Progress made in Hezbollah disarmament 'but much remains to be done'

Progress has been made by the Lebanese army on disarming Hezbollah in south Lebanon "but much remains to be done", a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Saudi channel al-Arabiya.

The State Department source said the U.S. "needs the Lebanese state to do more to completely eliminate all weapons and infrastructure of Hezbollah and non-state actors across the country".

The U.S. official warned against allowing Hezbollah to rebuild its military capabilities, which according to him would constitute a "direct threat to the security of Lebanon and Israel" and "a missed opportunity for the Lebanese state to restore its sovereignty."

"We don’t want to see Hezbollah, or any other terrorist group in Lebanon," the U.S. official said.

U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack had said during a visit to Lebanon this week that he is "unbelievably satisfied" with Lebanon's response to a U.S. proposal on disarming Hezbollah, following meetings he held with Lebanese leaders in Beirut.

"As Ambassador Barrack said in Beirut, Lebanon must seize this opportunity to move forward," the official said.

During a press briefing Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce praised Barrack, describing him as "an outstanding person." "He has a difficult mission. He is not a man who pretends, and he said he was incredibly satisfied with the Lebanese government's response to the calls for Hezbollah's disarmament," she said.