Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel said Hezbollah must unconditionally disarm and end its role as an armed faction operating outside state authority, warning that Lebanon cannot achieve reform or stability while weapons remain in the group’s hands.

In an interview with Al-Hadath, Gemayel accused Hezbollah of obstructing political solutions for years and serving as a tool of Iranian influence in the region.

“Hezbollah is clinging to its control over Lebanon and using it as a pressure card for Iran,” he said. “But things have changed. There is now an elected political authority committed to restoring state sovereignty and enforcing exclusive control over arms.”

Gemayel urged Hezbollah to shift from its past behavior and join the rest of the Lebanese people in building a proper state, starting with the surrender of its weapons “without preconditions or negotiation.”

“Hezbollah is not entitled to speak on behalf of the Lebanese state and is not authorized to represent the Lebanese people,” he said. “It is an armed faction that must surrender its weapons. The president and the prime minister must adopt a firm stance and end all political accommodations with the group.”

Gemayel voiced trust in President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, saying both are committed to Lebanese sovereignty and serious in their engagement with the U.S. proposal regarding disarmament and regional de-escalation.

“There is no leniency,” he said. “We are in a new reality, and the two leaders are doing their utmost despite the complexity of the situation. They are fully aware that there can be no functioning state, no economic recovery, and no reform while Hezbollah retains its arsenal.”

He reiterated that the Kataeb Party is pushing the government to take a decisive approach toward Hezbollah’s weapons.

“Lebanon has no time to waste. This is a defining moment,” he said.

Gemayel rejected any attempt to classify weapons in Lebanon as heavy, medium, or light, arguing that such distinctions are meaningless and undermine the state’s ability to assert full sovereignty.

“If heavy weapons threaten regional security, then light weapons threaten the very foundation of Lebanese society. We’ve suffered enough from the internal use of force,” he said.

He said the group’s only Lebanese attribute is the nationality of its members.

“We reject the presence of anything non-Lebanese within Hezbollah, whether it’s weapons, money, or ideology,” he stated, emphasizing that disarmament should not be limited to the area south of the Litani River.

“No official has proposed limiting disarmament to the south of the Litani River. Everyone is discussing the removal of all non-state weapons across Lebanon; this is something we’ve demanded for 30 years,” he said. “We will not accept a single rifle remaining in Hezbollah’s possession.”

Hezbollah, he said, must now choose: “Does it want to expose Lebanon, the Shia community, and its own members to Israeli retaliation? Or provoke internal chaos with the rest of the Lebanese who reject its continued armament?”

Gemayel also revealed he will soon launch a domestic political initiative to make clear that the Kataeb Party and its allies are no longer willing to coexist with Hezbollah’s weapons, regardless of foreign involvement.

“There will be no compromise. This is our internal position,” he said.

Gemayel said the U.S. proposal envisions a phased process involving Israeli withdrawals, Hezbollah disarmament, and the injection of reconstruction funds, ultimately leading to a complete consolidation of state authority and national recovery.

“The ceasefire agreement was rushed. Hezbollah accepted it as an unconditional surrender, allowing Israel to shape its interpretation. Now, the Lebanese state is filling in the details,” he said.

He added that the current process, as proposed and discussed with foreign envoys, involves limited but time-bound stages that would ultimately result in exclusive control of arms by the Lebanese Army.

Gemayel emphasized that only the United States can offer credible guarantees of Israeli compliance.

“Washington has already imposed significant constraints on Israel, especially concerning war with Iran,” he said. “If we don’t get guarantees from the U.S., we won’t get them from anyone.”

Gemayel concluded by calling for Lebanon to follow the path of Arab nations that have embraced stability, modernization, and prosperity.

“We no longer want to live under the shadow of Hezbollah’s and Iran’s weapons,” he said. “Their influence has devastated Lebanon and prevented us from joining the civilized world. It’s time we free ourselves from this burden and move forward, alongside the Gulf, toward peace and development.”