Barrack hails 'historic' Lebanon decision on Hezbollah disarmament
US envoy Tom Barrack said on Thursday Lebanon's government had taken a "historic" decision this week by moving to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah, which Washington has pushed for.
In a post on X, Barrack congratulated Lebanese leaders "for making the historic, bold, and correct decision this week to begin fully implementing" a November ceasefire which ended more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, and stipulated that weapons in Lebanon be restricted to government agencies only.
"This week's Cabinet resolutions finally put into motion the 'One Nation, One Army' solution for Lebanon. We stand behind the Lebanese people," Barrack said.
Barrack also reminded of recent statements about Lebanon and Hezbollah by U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"Promises made promises kept. As @POTUS (Trump) has stated, 'My administration stands ready to help Lebanon create a future of economic development and peace with its neighbors… In Lebanon, there’s a new chance for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists… A new president and prime minister brought the first real chance in decades for a more productive partnership with the United States,'" Barrack posted.
"And as @SecRubio has rightly emphasized, 'Our goal in Lebanon is a strong Lebanese state that can take on and disarm Hezbollah,'" he added.
Barrack also posted remarks by U.S. congressman Darrell Issa, who visited Lebanon on Thursday.
"We will push hard to make sure that there is — and this is something that I will work with the Israelis on — a complete withdrawal in return for the Lebanese Armed Forces showing its ability to secure all Lebanon," Issa said.
The Lebanese government asked the national army on Tuesday to prepare a plan in which only state institutions in the small nation will have weapons by the end of the year, a move that aims to disarm Hezbollah.
After Tuesday's cabinet meeting, Hezbollah accused the government of caving to U.S. and Israeli pressure and said it would "treat this decision as if it does not exist."
And on Thursday the government approved the objectives of a U.S. paper of demands carried by Barrack to Lebanon.
The ministers of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement walked out of both sessions in protest.
