US special envoy calls on Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah

US Special Envoy Tom Barrack has urged Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah.

In a post titled “A Personal Perspective – Syria and Lebanon Are the Next Pieces for Levant Peace,” he warned that “Israel may act unilaterally” if the Lebanese government continues to delay asserting a state monopoly on weapons, Caliber.Az reports.

“As Damascus stabilizes, Hizballah grows more isolated. The militia’s foreign control undermines Lebanon’s sovereignty, deters investment, and erodes public confidence and is a constant red flag to Israel,” Barrack said.

He stressed that “regional partners are ready to invest, provided Lebanon reclaims the monopoly on legitimate force solely under the Lebanese Armed Forces. Should Beirut continue to hesitate, Israel may act unilaterally – and the consequences would be grave.”

Barrack accused the Lebanese government of failing to adopt the US-proposed framework “One More Try” — a phased disarmament, compliance verification, and economic incentive plan under the joint supervision of Washington and Paris.

“Lebanon declined to adopt it due to Hizballah representation and influence in the Lebanese Council of Ministers. Rather the Lebanese Cabinet and Council of Ministers are trapped in sectarian paralysis and are attempting to make a good faith step forward, which Israel has completely discounted. The Israelis have simply said the rhetoric does not match reality,” he wrote.

Special Envoy added that the cabinet is paralyzed by sectarian divisions, while Israel has dismissed Beirut’s rhetoric as detached from reality.

“Lebanese government’s principle of “One Country, One Military” remains more aspiration than reality, constrained by Hizballah’s political dominance and the fear of civil unrest,” Barrack concluded.

For decades, the Hezbollah militia has operated in Lebanon with an arsenal independent of the official Lebanese state military, undermining Beirut’s sovereignty and complicating its relations with both Western backers and neighbouring Israel.

In 2025, the United States Department of State—via its envoy Tom Barrack—presented a detailed roadmap to the Lebanese government that called for Hezbollah’s disarmament by the end of the year in exchange for Israeli troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon and economic incentives, an approach described as “carrot and stick.”

Despite the government’s acceptance of the proposal’s objectives, Hezbollah has openly rejected disarmament while Israel continues to occupy border positions and carry out air-strikes, raising fears of renewed internal conflict and external escalation.

By Khagan Isayev