BEIRUT: Lebanon will present a plan on Sunday aimed at persuading Hezbollah to disarm, with Israel expected to submit a corresponding framework for its military withdrawal, top US envoy Thomas Barrack said on Tuesday.
Speaking after talks with President Joseph Aoun in Beirut, Barrack said the Lebanese proposal would not involve military coercion but would focus on efforts to encourage Hezbollah to surrender its weapons — including addressing the economic impact on fighters funded by Iran.
“The Lebanese army and government are not talking about going to war. They are talking about how to convince Hezbollah to give up those arms,” Barrack said.
A move this month by the Lebanese cabinet to task the army with drawing up a plan to establish a state monopoly on arms has outraged heavily armed Hezbollah, which says such calls only serve Israel.
Israel signalled on Monday it would scale back its military presence in southern Lebanon if Lebanon’s armed forces took action to disarm the Iran-backed group.
US plans to establish special economic zone to check Iranian influence
Barrack, who met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, described that development as “historic”.
“What Israel has now said is: we don’t want to occupy Lebanon. We’re happy to withdraw from Lebanon, and we will meet those withdrawal expectations with our plan as soon as we see what is the plan to actually disarm Hezbollah,” he said.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, after meeting the US delegation, said Lebanon had embarked on an irreversible path to place all weapons under state control, with the army due to present a comprehensive plan by next week.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem, in a recorded speech criticised the government’s decision to disarm the group and urged officials to reverse it, saying pulling back “would be a virtue”.
While no formal proposals have been exchanged, Barrack said verbal commitments from both sides suggested a narrowing path toward implementation.
Economic consideration
Hezbollah was significantly weakened in last year’s war with Israel, which killed many of its top commanders and fighters.
A US-brokered ceasefire ending the conflict obliges the Lebanese state to disarm all non-state armed groups.
Israel, meanwhile, has held on to positions inside Lebanon and its military has continued to carry out periodic air strikes it says target Hezbollah militants and weapons.
Qassem rejected a step-by-step framework under which an Israeli withdrawal and Hezbollah disarmament would proceed in parallel.
Qassem said Hezbollah would not discuss a national defence strategy until Israel fully implemented the ceasefire agreement signed on Nov 27.
“Let them implement the (ceasefire) agreement ... then after that we will discuss the defence strategy,” Qassem said. Barrack stressed that any disarmament initiative must address the economic impact on tens of thousands of Hezbollah fighters and their families, many of whom rely on Iranian funding.
“If were asking a portion of the Lebanese community to give up their livelihood — because when we say disarm Hezbollah, were talking about 40,000 people being paid by Iran — you cant just take their weapons and say, ‘Good luck, go plant olive trees’.
We have to help them.” He said Gulf states, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, were prepared to support Lebanon’s economy — particularly in the south, which is Hezbollah’s stronghold — as part of an initiative to provide alternatives to Hezbollah’s payroll system.
Barrack said discussions were under way to build an “economic forum” backed by the Gulf, the US, and Lebanese authorities that would offer sustainable livelihoods “not determined by whether Iran wants it or not”.
US, Israel await action
US envoy Morgan Ortagus said on Tuesday that Lebanese authorities must execute their decision to disarm Hezbollah, adding that Israel would respond in kind to any government steps.
“We’re all greatly encouraged by the historic decision of the government a few weeks ago, but now it’s not about words, now it’s about action,” Ortagus told journalists at Lebanon’s presidential palace in Baabda. Her comments came after talks between a US delegation and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
Ortagus said that Israel was “willing to go step by step, it might be small steps... but they’re willing to go step by step with this government”.
Hezbollah has was the only group to keep its weapons after Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, doing so in the name of “resistance” against Israel, which occupied the south until 2000.
Barrack, responding to a question on an Axios report detailing a US plan to establish a special economic zone in southern Lebanon, said it could help “substitute” Iranian influence.
“When we say disarm Hezbollah, we have 40,000 people that are being paid by Iran to fight. What are you going to do with them?” he said.
Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2025