Kataeb Political Bureau member Alain Hakim said the Middle East is entering a decisive phase of peace and openness, arguing that Lebanon must reposition itself within this new regional environment if it hopes to regain stability.

In an interview on Suroyo TV, Hakim said the situation today goes beyond the risk of an imminent Israeli attack on Lebanon. What is clear, he argued, is that “a decision has been taken both internationally and regionally. The region is moving toward peace and openness with all parties, and Lebanon must fall within this framework of Arab openness toward everyone, including Israel.”

Hakim said such a shift leaves no room for the continued presence of Hezbollah, “a party classified internationally and regionally as a terrorist organization.” Rebuilding the Lebanese state, he stressed, is impossible while an armed group continues to operate outside state authority.

“There can be no armed Hezbollah outside Lebanese legitimacy, no weapons outside the authority of the state, and no black-market economy on Lebanese soil,” he said. “Oversight must belong solely to the Central Bank and the Lebanese state.”

He added that financial reform and dismantling illegal weapons networks are inseparable priorities, arguing that no state can function without controlling both.

Hakim said Hezbollah’s actions are also feeding regional tensions. The group, he noted, continues to rely on “urban warfare tactics — stealth and infiltration — while strengthening its weapons and presence on Lebanese territory.” Its public statements, he said, confirm that it is rearming and repositioning.

“This gives Israel the justification to strike Hezbollah under the ceasefire agreement,” he said. “In other words, Hezbollah is giving Israel the pretext to hit Lebanon. To remove this pretext, Hezbollah must return to the authority of the Lebanese state and put an end to the issues of weapons and financing.”

Hakim argued that Hezbollah’s conduct cannot be understood without looking at Iran, which he described as “the real power behind the axis of resistance, not Hezbollah, not Nabih Berri.” Tehran, he said, remains the ultimate decision-maker, and “whenever someone steps out of line, a repositioning occurs to restore order.”

He pointed to Speaker Nabih Berri’s recent shift in tone, after previously showing openness to negotiations. The visit of MP Ali Hassan Khalil to Iran, Hakim said, was meant to “put things back in their proper place and tell the Iranian authorities that the time has come to think about a neutral Lebanon and reconstruction.”

“Iran will not pull back,” Hakim warned. “It will continue using Lebanese proxies until the very end because it serves its interests in the context of Iranian–American negotiations.”

Hezbollah, he added, remains Iran’s most loyal arm, operating at the expense of the Lebanese state and with no regard for national sovereignty.

Hakim said recent remarks by Tom Barrack were “realistic and should be taken seriously,” and he cited comments attributed to the new U.S. ambassador, who reportedly said that disarming Hezbollah is essential for the state to function. While he agreed that such assessments may hold true, Hakim stressed that “the more important factor is a change in Lebanon’s political direction.”
He said the President understands this need, “but he cannot alone reposition Lebanon.”

Hakim argued that Lebanon’s greatest threat is not an Israeli attack but a deep internal imbalance caused by political paralysis — a condition that could eventually pull Lebanon into another country’s orbit, “Syria, for example.”

“In international politics, interests, not emotions or rhetoric, prevail,” he said.

He added that Lebanon has yet to break free from the entrenched political establishment that has dominated for decades. The 2026 parliamentary elections, he said, represent “the only chance to dismantle this system and reach practical solutions.”

Hakim insisted that expatriates should retain the right to vote for all 128 parliamentary seats, calling efforts to reduce diaspora representation to six MPs “absurd and logically unacceptable.”

“We must stop crafting laws that serve personal interests,” he said. “Our focus must be exclusively on Lebanon’s sovereign interest.”

Turning to the economy, Hakim warned that Lebanon is on the verge of being placed on the international financial blacklist. The economy, he said, depends heavily on the parallel market; an abnormal system that enables terrorism financing and supports Hezbollah through Iranian funds, particularly via cash-based operations at entities such as Al-Qard Al-Hassan.

He said Lebanese financial institutions must adopt transparency, proper governance, and sound management to establish true financial sovereignty through the Central Bank alone. Doing so, he argued, would normalize Lebanon’s financial system and restore its standing among regional and international partners “whose primary objective is peace.”

He cautioned that falling onto the blacklist would be catastrophic.

“Lebanon relies heavily on foreign aid and especially remittances from expatriates, not to mention the risks tied to terrorism financing.”

Hakim said Lebanon remains dominated by a political order built on quotas, division, and backroom deals. The state, he added, must “act decisively” and take a sovereign step forward. Palestinian camps, he argued, have become “dens of theft and fraud and must be addressed once and for all.”