Qassem said his group will not "surrender its weapons" while Israel, which significantly weakened Hezbollah during a 14-month war last year, remains a threat and continues to strike Lebanon, occupy parts of its territories and hold Lebanese prisoners.
"We will fight this as a Karbala-style battle if necessary, confronting this Israeli-American scheme no matter the cost, confident that we will emerge victorious," he said in a televised speech released Friday.
To Muslim Shiites, Karbala means standing against tyranny, sacrifice and steadfastness in the face of overwhelming odds.
Qassem's strong warning came after he met with Iran Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, who visited Beirut on Wednesday, where he heard firm statements from President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam rejecting any interference in their country's internal affairs.
Larijani tried to play down recent comments by Iranian political and military officials who criticized the Lebanese government for endorsing the objectives of a U.S.-proposed plan to disarm Hezbollah and for tasking the Lebanese Army with developing a strategy to enforce a state monopoly on weapons by the end of the year.
The Iranian officials also maintained that Hezbollah, which has been funded and armed by Iran since its formation in the early 1980s, would never be disarmed.
Qassem said the government took "a very dangerous decision" last week, exposing the country to "a major crisis" and stripping it of "defensive weapons during times of aggression."
He also accused it of "serving the Israeli agenda" and carrying out "an order" from the U.S. and Israel "to end the resistance, even if that leads to a civil war and internal strife."
He held the government fully responsible for any sectarian strife, internal explosion, or destruction of Lebanon and warned it against dragging the Army into such an internal conflict.
Qassem, said, however, there "is still an opportunity, room for dialogue and for making adjustments before reaching a confrontation that no one wants."
He added that Hezbollah was ready for confrontation and that demonstrations will be held across Lebanon, including "heading to the U.S. Embassy," located in Awkar, north of Beirut.
Hezbollah, which reportedly lost the bulk of its military capabilities in ongoing Israeli airstrikes targeting its positions in southern and eastern Lebanon, accepted the ceasefire accord to stop a war that killed or wounded more than 20,000 people and left border villages in southern Lebanon in ruins.
While it implicitly agreed to discuss its weapons as part of a national defense strategy, the group resisted government efforts to set a timetable for disarming -- a key U.S. condition for unlocking much-needed international and Gulf Arab funding to support Lebanon's reconstruction and economic recovery.
Lebanon's decision to set a timeline for Hezbollah disarming was mainly motivated by the risk of another devastating war with Israel and of losing well-needed funds to rebuild its war-devastated regions.
"Let us work together to build the country, so that we may all win," Qassem said. "There is no life for Lebanon if you choose to stand on the opposite side."
Hezbollah vows to fight disarmament as Lebanon PM slams civil war 'threats'
Beirut, Lebanon (AFP) Aug 15, 2025 -
Qassem gave a televised address after meeting with Iran's security chief Ali Larijani, whose country has long backed the Lebanese militant group.
Hezbollah emerged badly weakened from last year's war with Israel, and the Lebanese government -- under US pressure -- has ordered the army to draw up a plan to disarm the group by the end of the year.
Iran, whose so-called "axis of resistance" includes Hezbollah, has also suffered a series of setbacks, most recently in its own war with Israel, which also saw the United States strike its nuclear facilities.
"The government is implementing an American-Israeli order to end the resistance, even if it leads to civil war and internal strife," Qassem said.
"The resistance will not surrender its weapons while aggression continues, occupation persists, and we will fight it... if necessary to confront this American-Israeli project no matter the cost."
He urged the government "not to hand over the country to an insatiable Israeli aggressor or an American tyrant with limitless greed", adding the state would "bear responsibility for any internal explosion and any destruction of Lebanon".
Prime Minister Salam later denounced the remarks, saying on X that they "constitute an implicit threat of civil war".
He added that "any threat or intimidation related to such a war is totally unacceptable".
Salam also hit back at Hezbollah's characterisation of the disarmament push as an American-Israeli effort.
"Our decisions are purely Lebanese, made by our cabinet, and no one tells us what to do," he said.
"The Lebanese have the right to stability and security... without which the country will not be able to recover, and no reconstruction or investment will take place."
Before the war with Israel, Hezbollah was believed to be better armed than the Lebanese military.
It long maintained it had to keep its arsenal in order to defend Lebanon from attack, but critics accused it of using its weapons for political leverage.
Qassem said Friday that Hezbollah and its political ally Amal would not be organising any street protests against disarmament at this time, but threatened to do so in future.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council chief Larijani was in Beirut this week, and held talks with Qassem as well as with President Joseph Aoun.
Iran has expressed its opposition to the government's disarmament plan, and has vowed to continue to provide support, with Lebanese officials recently hardening their tone towards Hezbollah and its patron.
Both the president and the prime minister took issue with Iran's recent statements during Larijani's trip, with Salam saying Lebanon rejects "any interference in its internal affairs".
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