US election results could be positive for Lebanon, Hezbollah chief says

Résumé détaillé

Naim Qassem says Republican losses and Israel's election result could help Lebanon maintain sovereignty.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem has welcomed Republican setbacks in US midterm elections last week and a lacklustre showing for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israeli polls, calling them a boon for Lebanon.

During a speech on Wednesday honouring members of the group killed by Israel, along with their families, Qassem described the elections in the US as an “earthquake” and the Israeli elections as a “defeat”. The bloc of Netanyahu, an arch-nemesis of the group, fell short of the 61 seats it needed to stay in power after the October 27 vote.

Qassem said the results were good for Lebanon and a signal that the country should resist the Trump administration’s push to disarm the group.

“Come, let us rebuild our country together, save it from the darkness of failure, and protect it from the empty rhetoric of those who sow discord and those who rely on American tutelage,” he said in a video-link address.

“Lebanon belongs to all of us. We are partners in building it and sharing the cost of protecting its sovereignty.”

Iran-backed Hezbollah is locked in a standoff with US-backed Lebanese President Joseph Aoun over whether it will relinquish its arms, in a move Washington seeks but the group says would be a surrender to Israel.

The Hezbollah leader insisted it would not hand over its weapons and cited a continued Israeli military occupation over parts of the country’s south.

“There will be no state monopoly on the resistance’s weapons, no regulation, no prohibition, and no disarmament under Israeli occupation,” Qassem said.

The secretary-general assumed the role after Israel assassinated former Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and his successor Hashem Safieddine in 2024.

Début de l'article, extrait de Al Jazeera. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.