BEIRUT, October 21. /TASS/. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has slammed the United States’ push for disarming Hezbollah as an explicit interference into Lebanon’s domestic affairs.

"Those who think that arms surrender by resistance forces, as the United States and Israel demand, will lead to stability and put an end to all problems, are profoundly wrong," he said in a televised address. "Weapons in the hands of Hezbollah gives strength to Lebanon and if these weapons are surrendered it will only weaken the country in the face of external pressure."

According to Qassem, Washington is blackmailing the Lebanese government in a bid to attain its expansionist goals. "Instead of pushing Israel toward implementing its commitments under the November 27, 2024 truce agreement, the Americans are intimidating Lebanon demanding it enter direct talks with the Jewish state," he said.

Lebanon should remain an independent state and resist the United States’ attempt to bend it to Israel’s will, he said, adding that Israel is seeking to "swallow Lebanon and terminate its existence."

On October 20, US Special Envoy for the Middle East Tom Barrack urged the Lebanese government to speed up the process of disarming Hezbollah, warning that otherwise Israel may take unilateral measures that would be fraught with another confrontation.