Leaked Document Proposes Hezbollah’s Integration into Lebanese “National Guard”

A recently leaked document allegedly produced by Tehran’s Defense Studies Center, an institute closely linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, outlines a radical plan to absorb Hezbollah’s fighters and arsenal into a state‑supervised “Lebanese National Guard.” The proposal, described as irreversible and elevated to a “strategic” level, emerges amid mounting U.S. pressure on Lebanon to secure Hezbollah’s disarmament.

According to the memorandum, all of Hezbollah’s combat capabilities, from heavy weaponry in the north to underground depots in the south, would be transferred gradually to the new National Guard before year’s end. Elite units, weapons stockpiles, and command centers would fall under the formal authority of Lebanon’s president, the country’s commander‑in‑chief, and operate in coordination with the Cabinet within a framework of national sovereignty.

The document details that former Hezbollah armament workshops would officially report to the Ministry of Defense, routing sensitive technical and security briefings through the president’s office to the Cabinet “to ensure the highest level of sovereign protection.” These facilities would continue to produce precision munitions, long‑range rockets, and unmanned aerial vehicles under state oversight.

Financially, the memo stipulates that the National Guard’s operating costs would be covered by a protected allocation in the Defense Ministry’s budget, without direct salaries for volunteer fighters. The force would be incorporated into the “Unknown Soldier” institution as a strategic reserve, complete with an independent operations center designed to facilitate rapid tactical decisions.

An informed opposition figure from Lebanon’s Shiite community, speaking to Nidaa Al-Watan on condition of anonymity, interpreted the leaked plan as a tacit admission of Hezbollah’s strategic defeat.

“Hezbollah, and its Iranian backers, no longer control the pace of events,” the source said. “Regional realignments, from security normalization between Israel and Syria to the closure of the Syrian corridor for arms and cash, have stripped Hezbollah of the luxury of time. Clinging to weapons now would be political suicide.”

Faced with drying funding streams and sustained Israeli strikes on its financial networks, Hezbollah, the source suggested, is scrambling to secure a role in Lebanon’s emerging security order.

“If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,” the source warned, adding that the movement seeks political gains “to offset its losses,” and to prevent thousands of full‑time fighters from becoming a dangerous social and economic burden.

Domestically, the proposal is all but certain to face fierce resistance. President Joseph Aoun has repeatedly rejected any model resembling Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces and Lebanese political leaders across sectarian lines are unlikely to endorse a formal state role for Hezbollah’s armed wing. Critics argue the plan would entrench Revolutionary Guard doctrine within Lebanon’s institutions and fuel sectarian tensions.