Political tensions in Lebanon reached a new peak today (Tuesday) as a fresh round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon opened in Rome. Against that backdrop, an unusually public confrontation erupted between Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, highlighting the deepening divide over the country’s future and its approach to negotiations with Israel.
In a televised address, Qassem sharply criticized the very existence of direct negotiations with Israel, claiming they would bring Lebanon “nothing but shame, humiliation, and concession after concession.”
He also attacked Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, saying he “did not act as an arbitrator or a unifying figure, but instead became biased and divisive—something that is incompatible with both his office and Lebanon’s strength.”
Qassem further warned that Hezbollah “will confront anyone who cooperates with the Israeli project,” while adding that he believes in “a united Lebanon” and that any harm to southern Lebanon is “harm to all of Lebanon.”
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam responded with unusually harsh criticism of Hezbollah.
“Those who unilaterally decided to go to war have no right to hand out certificates of patriotism,” Salam declared, in an apparent reference to Hezbollah’s decisions to engage in conflict without the approval of Lebanon’s state institutions.
Salam added that “the greatest service Israel received came from those who dragged Lebanon into pointless proxy wars,” accusing Hezbollah of tying the country to “external calculations.”
“Those who tied Lebanon to outside interests and foreign agendas should not lecture us about sovereignty as if the Lebanese people have no memory,” he said.
The Lebanese prime minister reiterated that true sovereignty can exist only when “one state has one independent decision and one army”—a statement widely interpreted as a renewed call for military power to be concentrated exclusively in the hands of the Lebanese Armed Forces rather than Hezbollah.
At the same time, Salam emphasized that his government remains committed to demanding Israel’s withdrawal from all territory Lebanon considers sovereign, securing the release of prisoners, and returning displaced residents to their homes.
The confrontation comes at a particularly sensitive moment, as another round of direct Israel-Lebanon talks began Tuesday in Rome under American mediation. The negotiations focus on implementing existing security understandings, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from areas in southern Lebanon, the deployment of the Lebanese army, and continued discussions on a broader arrangement between the two countries—a process that Hezbollah strongly opposes.