Lebanon’s former army chief Joseph Aoun, whose election has ended more than two years of presidential vacuum, has taken an early dig at Hezbollah, saying that he will defend the “state’s right to exclusively carry weapons”, Al Jazeera reports.

“I promise to call for discussing a comprehensive defence strategy, as part of a national security strategy, on the diplomatic, economic and military levels to enable the Lebanese state — I repeat the Lebanese state — to remove the Israeli occupation and deter its aggression,” Aoun said.

Hezbollah has long argued that its weapons arsenal and military wing are necessary to protect Lebanon from Israel. Throughout its history, the Lebanese army has largely avoided direct clashes with Israel despite its repeated invasions and attacks against the country.