Prime Minister Nawaf Salam rejected comments by Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, who warned of a “battle” and declared there would be “no life in Lebanon” if the government proceeded with its plan to disarm the militant group.

In remarks to Asharq al-Awsat, Salam said Qassem’s statement amounted to a veiled threat of civil war.

“No one in Lebanon today wants a civil war, and such threats or insinuations are completely unacceptable,” he said.

Salam also dismissed Qassem’s claim that the government was executing an American-Israeli agenda, stressing that cabinet decisions are “purely Lebanese, made in our Council of Ministers, and dictated by no one.”

The premier underlined that the 1989 Taif Accord remains Lebanon’s national charter and explicitly calls for “the State’s authority to be extended over all Lebanese territory by its own forces.”

“No party in Lebanon is authorized to carry weapons outside the framework of the Lebanese State,” he said.

Salam stressed that no one had called for Hezbollah’s weapons to be handed over to Israel, as some have suggested.

“The demand is for them to be handed to the Lebanese army, whose patriotism we firmly defend and which is beyond the shadow of a doubt,” he said.

He concluded with a warning against actions that could inflame sectarian tensions.

“Beware of reckless behavior that incites strife,” he said.