Hezbollah bristles as Lebanon’s new PM declares the obvious

Its claim that it will withdraw its weapons from south of the Litani River while retaining them elsewhere in Lebanon is, in effect, an admission that it seeks to preserve an internal armed advantage. Just as it did in May 2008, Hezbollah may once again be signalling that its weapons are in fact aimed not at Israel, but at fellow Lebanese, to impose its political will domestically.

Turning on the PM

During the July 2006 war, Speaker Berri described Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's cabinet as the "Government of the Resistance." But once the ceasefire was declared and Resolution 1701 adopted, Hezbollah and its allies "shifted the rifle from one shoulder to the other" (as the Lebanese saying goes), vilifying Siniora and his government, while paralysing downtown Beirut.

Times have changed, but Hezbollah's mindset apparently has not. Today, it is confronting Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, a former judge at the International Court of Justice, which recently ruled that Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories was illegal and called for its termination "as soon as possible" (ironically, Hezbollah supporters once accused Salam of being a "Zionist").

Hearing truths

Their collision was inevitable. In a recent television interview, Salam stated that "the era of exporting the Iranian revolution is over," a direct reference to Hezbollah's reliance on Iran and its propensity to do Tehran's bidding. Yet this was no radical declaration.

Those who would seek to export the Iranian revolution are these days much more muted after setbacks suffered by Iran's regional proxies, the collapse of its key ally and strategic corridor in Syria, and the growing frustration within Iran itself over the cost of foreign interventions.

Iranians facing economic hardship at home who now see their leaders negotiating with Washington over the dismantling of their national nuclear programme (just as Tehran achieves record high enrichment levels) may now conclude that the era of Iranian expansion and revolutionary export is over.

The old playbook

Such conclusions are increasingly being reached across the Arab world. Still, Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, bristled at hearing Salam's unpalatable truth. After meeting President Joseph Aoun, Raad said curtly: "I prefer not to respond to that statement—for the sake of what remains of cordial ties."

Meanwhile, Hezbollah loyalists and affiliated media outlets—chief among them Al-Manar—have reached for the old playbook, vilifying Salam as they once vilified Siniora, including with accusations of treason against the prime minister. It seems that Raad and his party have yet to grasp the futility of such attacks in Lebanon today.

The rescue of Lebanon and its people begins with the disarmament of Hezbollah—a disarmament Nasrallah once swore would be met with fire and fury. Most Lebanese know this. Hezbollah's intransigence once worked. Today, it will lead nowhere. The train has left the station. The Lebanese people must make their choice, and its leaders must shoulder their responsibilities to the nation, and to history.