Hezbollah leader says he hopes for an Iran-US deal that includes the group

The leader once again urged the Lebanese authorities to abandon talks with Israel, before a fourth round of dialogues in Washington at the beginning of June

Photo by – / AFP
An excavator removes rubble near heavily damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in the Bekaa Valley region of eastern Lebanon on February 21, 2026, following Israeli attacks. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun on Feb. 21 condemned Israel’s deadly attacks on his country the day before, while a Hezbollah lawmaker called on Beirut to suspend meetings with a committee monitoring the year-long ceasefire with Israel.

The leader of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, Naim Qasem, declared this Sunday (23) that he hopes for an agreement between the United States and Iran, which includes a truce in Lebanon.

“God willing, this agreement will come to fruition and there are already indications that it will be done; therefore, we too will be part of this agreement, an agreement for the total cessation of hostilities,” Qasem said in a televised speech.

Qasem further stated that the disarmament of the pro-Iranian group is unacceptable and amounts to its annihilation, and urged the Lebanese government to abandon negotiations with Israel.

“Disarmament implies stripping Lebanon of its defensive capacity and the resistance capacity (of Hezbollah) and its people, which paves the way for its annihilation,” Qasem said.

“Disarmament is equivalent to annihilation and we cannot accept it,” he added.

Qasem argued that the state arms monopoly that the Lebanese government claims “at this stage is aimed at attacking the resistance and is an Israeli project.”

The leader once again urged the Lebanese authorities to abandon talks with Israel, before a fourth cycle of dialogues in Washington at the beginning of June.

Qasem stated that these negotiations only benefit Israel and constitute a “stab in the back for his group”.

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