Tehran, Iran — Iran opposes the Lebanese government’s decision to disarm the Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah, a senior adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei said Saturday according to the Tasnim news agency. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is certainly opposed to the disarmament of Hezbollah,” international affairs adviser Ali Akbar Velayati said. “Iran has always supported the people and the resistance of Lebanon and continues to do so.” The Lebanese cabinet on Tuesday authorized the army to draw up a plan to establish the state’s exclusive control over weapons -- a move that would mean disarming Hezbollah by the end of the year. The decision followed a war between Israel and Hezbollah that left the group’s military clout and political influence badly diminished. Characterizing the disarmament push as the result of US and Israeli interference, Velayati said, “this is not the first time that some in Lebanon have raised such issues”. “But just as previous anti-Lebanese plans failed, this one will also not succeed, and the resistance will stand firm against these conspiracies.” The cabinet has been under pressure from the United States and anti-Hezbollah parties in Lebanon to commit publicly to disarming the group, amid fears Israel could escalate strikes on Lebanese territory if they failed to act. On Wednesday, Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi, said any decision on disarmament was Hezbollah’s to make, adding Tehran supported its ally “from afar, but we do not intervene”. His comments came hours after Hezbollah slammed the cabinet decision as a “grave sin”, adding it would treat the move “as if it did not exist.” The Lebanese government has cast disarmament as part of the implementation of the November ceasefire that sought to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Hezbollah is part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance” -- a network of armed groups in the region, including Hamas in Gaza and Yemen’s Huthi rebels, united in their opposition to Israel. Syria under former president Bashar al-Assad was also considered a key link in the chain, but his ouster last December altered the regional dynamics. AFP
