Hezbollah chief tells BBC it would ‘by no means disarm’printed at 12:45 BST
Nawal Al-Maghafi
Senior worldwide correspondent
Senior Hezbollah chief Wafiq Safa has advised the BBC the group will “never, ever” disarm, hours earlier than a ten-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel started.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has mentioned disarming Hezbollah is a basic demand in additional talks with the Lebanese authorities.
Asked about disarmament, Safa mentioned: “Not until a proper ceasefire, a real one. Not until Israeli withdrawal. Before the return of prisoners, before the return of displaced people and before the reconstruction. Until then, it is not possible to talk about Hezbollah’s weapons.”
The interview, at a residential building in Beirut, offers a rare glimpse into the coordination between Hezbollah and its main regional backer, Iran.
“Hezbollah and Iran are two souls in one body,” Safa mentioned. “There can be no Hezbollah without Iran, and no Iran without Hezbollah,” he mentioned, describing the connection as “religious, legal and ideological”.
Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim political and navy group, opposes Israel’s proper to exist and is taken into account a terrorist organisation by the US, UK, Israel and lots of different international locations.
The group joined the newest battle by firing rockets into Israel in early March, saying it was retaliating for the killing of Iran’s supreme chief and the close to-every day Israeli strikes on Lebanon since their final warfare in November 2024. Israel responded with intense air strikes and one other floor invasion of southern Lebanon, saying its marketing campaign would proceed till Hezbollah was disarmed.
Asked whether or not Hezbollah was prioritising the pursuits of individuals in Lebanon or Iran, Safa mentioned: “Of course, Hezbollah is taking a look at Lebanese pursuits.”
He argued Iranian support, including pressure for a ceasefire, had helped Lebanon in the current conflict.But many Lebanese – including people the BBC has spoken to during recent reporting – say they want the group disarmed and blame it for dragging the country into conflict.
And with Hezbollah refusing to disarm and insisting on broader circumstances, and Israel sustaining its safety calls for, any ceasefire could show solely a pause in a for much longer battle.
