Justice Minister Adel Nassar is pressing for a case involving a shipment of 800 kilograms of C4 and TNT explosives to be referred to the Judicial Council, warning that the materials pose a serious threat to national security regardless of their intended use.

The proposal was discussed at Thursday's Cabinet session at the presidential palace, chaired by President Joseph Aoun, but ministers made no decision on the referral, opting instead to continue discussions and postpone a ruling until a subsequent meeting.

In interviews with Al Arabiya and Asharq Al-Awsat, Nassar said he had formally submitted the proposal to refer the entire case to the Judicial Council, which handles offenses involving state security. The request was registered with the Cabinet's General Secretariat and placed on the agenda after he had raised the matter at an earlier informal ministerial meeting and a Cabinet session, where ministers affiliated with the Lebanese Forces party backed the move.

Nassar said the proposal was based on legal and national security considerations, not political motives, and would proceed independently of the ongoing criminal investigation.

"There are no limits to the investigation," Nassar told Asharq Al-Awsat, vowing to pursue the case to the end and rejecting any suggestion that political pressure could influence the judiciary.

Cabinet postpones decision on referral

Following Thursday's session, Nassar said he had hoped the government would decide on the referral but had reserved the right to raise the matter again at the next meeting after ministers opted to continue discussions.

He said President Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had recognized the validity of the proposal and the importance of the case. However, deliberations among the government's various components focused on the timing of a referral and whether to await the findings of investigations by the Public Prosecution at the Court of Cassation and the military judiciary.

Nassar stressed that referring the case to the Judicial Council would be separate from the ongoing investigation and would not obstruct or weaken it. He expressed full confidence in Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj and Government Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Claude Ghanem, who are involved in the proceedings.

"The investigation is continuing and expanding," he said, citing commitments by Aoun, Salam and the Justice Ministry to ensure that the probe proceeds without restrictions or political interference.

"This is fundamental to us," Nassar said. "We consider it a violation of national security, which falls within the Judicial Council's jurisdiction."

He added that the Cabinet remained free to discuss the proposal in accordance with constitutional procedures before reaching a decision.

"We are open to discussion in the Cabinet, in accordance with constitutional rules, until the government reaches its decision," he said.

Explosives shipment raises national security concerns

Nassar said the established facts surrounding the seizure pointed to grave risks arising from the transportation and storage of such a large quantity of explosives, which were reportedly being prepared for delivery to an unidentified party in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

He warned that moving the materials endangered the areas along their route, while storing them in a populated area posed a direct threat to residents and public safety. The circumstances surrounding their intended use, he added, raised further concerns about Lebanon's sovereignty and national security.

The minister also cited statements by a lawmaker affiliated with Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc that he said amounted to an explicit acknowledgment of ownership of the specific materials and their intended purpose.

Nassar identified several possible scenarios, including the use of the explosives in military operations against Israel or in attacks inside Lebanon, such as assassinations or bombings. He stressed, however, that investigators had yet to establish their intended use and that the final determination rested with the independent judiciary.

"There are suspicions about their intended use, whether for assassinations or bombings inside the country," he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He said either domestic attacks or military operations could threaten national security, making the case a matter of state responsibility rather than a political dispute.

Nassar says weapons outside State control violate the law

The justice minister argued that neither possible military nor domestic security use of the explosives could be justified if it involved armed activities outside the authority of the State.

He said the scenario involving military operations, which he said had been invoked by the Hezbollah-affiliated lawmaker, directly conflicted with the Lebanese Constitution and laws granting the state exclusive authority over weapons and the use of military force. It also contradicted a March 2 Cabinet decision banning the party's military activities.

"The Cabinet has been clear in its decisions prohibiting military and armed activities outside the framework of the state," Nassar said.

He added that the use of weapons outside State control could no longer be justified under the banner of "resistance."

"Whether intended for use inside Lebanon or in military operations that could provide pretexts for Israeli wars against Lebanon, both constitute a threat to national and state security and a violation of applicable laws," he said.

Nassar also pointed to the government's policy statement, which identifies exclusive state control over weapons and the authority to decide on war and peace as essential conditions for building state institutions.

"The state is building itself," he said.

Minister rejects political pressure

The proposal has drawn criticism from figures close to Hezbollah, including lawmakers who objected to the push for a Judicial Council referral following the seizure of the explosives.

Nassar dismissed the prospect of political confrontation, insisting that the case should be assessed on its legal merits and that political disagreements must not interfere with the work of investigators.

He pledged to protect judges from pressure, regardless of its source or whether it was intended to influence their work positively or negatively.

"There is absolutely no political direction being given to the judiciary in this case or any other," he said.

Nassar reiterated that his role was not to direct the substance of an investigation but to ensure that judges had the conditions necessary to carry it through.

"The judiciary will pursue the investigation to the end in accordance with established procedures. We have complete confidence in the judges and the investigations," he said.

Political disputes, he added, would not prevent investigators from expanding the probe or taking the necessary steps to address the risks the explosives posed to society and national security.

"My duty is to create the appropriate conditions for judges to pursue any case to the end," Nassar said, stressing that the proposed referral was a judicial measure grounded in applicable law, not an attempt to escalate political tensions.