Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem denounced the concept of the terror group’s disarmament during his speech on Resistance and Liberation Day, which commemorates the IDF’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon on May 25, 2000.
“There is no such thing as exclusivity of weapons or disarming Hezbollah,” he said.
Further, he argued that Hezbollah’s disarmament would remove Lebanon’s “defensive capability and the capability of the resistance and its people, as a prelude to extermination.”
“Disarmament is extermination, and this is something we cannot accept,” Qassem said.
He added that Israel’s withdrawal was the “first liberation that took place in the Arab region without an agreement with the Israeli entity.”
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem gives a televised speech from an unknown location in this still image obtained from a video released December 5, 2025; illustrative. (credit: Al Manar TV/REUTERS TV/via REUTERS )
He also praised Hezbollah’s first-person view (FPV) drones, which he said made Israel “dizzy,” and went on to list several attacks on IDF soldiers. In his list, he claimed that the attacks killed several officers, naming them. The IDF reported that those officers were wounded.
US not an honest actor due to Israel ties, Hezbollah chief says
Qassem also denounced the United States, stating that it is not a mediator, nor an honest actor but that it “manages Israel according to its interests.”
During the anti-US portion of his address, he criticized Washington’s sanctions on Hezbollah members of the Lebanese Parliament, on the Iranian ambassador in Lebanon (whom Beirut declared persona non grata), and on other Shi’ite officials.
The Hezbollah leader laid out four premises that, in his view, must be in place before his group and Lebanon could proceed.
First, that Israel is “an expansionist enemy that wants all of Lebanon and the region.”
Second, that all Lebanese factions must unite to confront Israel’s “aggression.”
Third, all Lebanese factions should prevent internal strife and work toward stability.
Fourth, that they must stop Israeli “aggression,” achieve a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, deploy the Lebanese military south of the Litani River, return Hezbollah “prisoners,” and reconstruct their infrastructure.
“If the [Lebanese] government is incapable of securing sovereignty, it should leave,” he argued. He called for demonstrations against the government if they do not agree to Hezbollah’s terms.
Qassem also rejected direct negotiations between Beirut and Jerusalem. “I advise you – leave direct negotiations and act coy toward the US. Tell them: Stop asking us for anything; then they will run to you and beg you to come.”
He discussed the sanctions placed on the Hezbollah-run financial institution al-Qard al-Hassan, claiming that it has no relation to “banking or economic work,” and that it is merely an institution that “gives loans to those in need.” Additionally, he insisted that Hezbollah has “no relation” to the institution.
Palestine to remain Hezbollah’s ‘compass,’ Qassem says
Further, he emphasized: “Palestine will remain the compass” for Hezbollah’s policies. “We will remain supportive and backing.”
Additionally, he denounced the assassination of Hamas military wing chief Izz ad-Din al-Haddad and the seizure of the Global Sumud Flotilla by the Israeli Navy.
Discussing the strikes on Iran as part of operations Roaring Lion and Epic Fury: “They attack. The aggression is clear before the whole world,” he said. “The Islamic Republic will succeed in defending itself from this aggression.”
Qassem also denounced the Kingdom of Bahrain and its arrest of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-linked activists. “What is the king of Bahrain doing? Forty-one scholars and opinion leaders are thrown into prisons because they have a cultural and intellectual direction; they have a political direction, and an opinion,” he said.
“Bahrain must return to its senses and release the detainees because injustice does not continue and does not settle,” he said.
Rubio condemns Hezbollah for call to overthrow Lebanese government
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the Hezbollah terrorist group following its Sunday call for the overthrow of the Lebanese government.
“Hezbollah has ignored repeated calls from the legitimate government of Lebanon to cease its attacks and respect a ceasefire,” Rubio stated. “Instead, it has continued firing on Israeli positions and moving fighters and weapons into southern Lebanon.”
Rubio further accused Hezbollah of “actively trying to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction.”
The US stands behind the Lebanese government, the secretary of state promised.