Kataeb MP Salim Sayegh said Lebanon is facing an existential political and security crisis, accusing Hezbollah of seeking to keep the country tied to Iran’s regional agenda while obstructing efforts to restore State authority and reach a lasting settlement with Israel.

Speaking during an interview on the Adawla YouTube channel, Sayegh addressed a wide range of issues, including the controversial general amnesty law, Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon’s political paralysis, the ongoing negotiations in Washington, the future of relations with Israel, and what he described as the need for a new national consensus.

Sayegh said the session convened by Deputy Parliament Speaker Elias Bou Saab on the proposed general amnesty law was merely “consultative,” arguing that serious political work “cannot be done in front of television cameras, but requires calm, discipline and responsible dialogue.”

He said the invitation effectively reopened discussions on a file that parliamentary committees had already spent considerable time reviewing and on which most key and sensitive issues had already been settled.

According to Sayegh, the main dispute centered on reducing prison sentences and determining the length of penalties, in addition to broader questions linked to criminal punishments.

He warned that Lebanese prisons are suffering from severe overcrowding, noting that around 350 Islamist detainees remain imprisoned, including roughly 80 who have already received final sentences.

Sayegh revealed that a group of lawmakers had met President Joseph Aoun after growing concerned about what they viewed as increasing security risks linked to the mobilization of extremist groups both inside and outside prisons.

“We felt there was a genuine threat to national security,” Sayegh said. “That’s why we appealed directly to the president and to the Lebanese Army.”

He stressed that if the military institution or the Defense Ministry has reservations about the proposed law, those concerns must be addressed because “this issue cannot be resolved without broad national consensus.”

The Kataeb lawmaker said President Aoun’s involvement in the issue falls within his constitutional responsibilities under Article 49 of the Lebanon’s constitution, which designates the president as the guarantor of the country’s unity and dignity.

At the same time, Sayegh criticized what he described as efforts to paralyze the State and undermine the presidency while Lebanon faces major internal and external threats, including the continuing Israeli occupation of areas in the south.

He accused Hezbollah of attempting to engineer what he called a “political coup” against Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri after the latter had reportedly coordinated with President Aoun on the amnesty file.

“Hezbollah couldn’t win against Israel, so now it wants to win against its partners at home,” Sayegh said, warning that escalating tensions could lead to “another May 7,” in reference to the armed clashes that shook Beirut in 2008.

Addressing the issue of Islamist detainees, Sayegh recalled the deadly Lebanese Army ambush in Abra, saying the military remains deeply sensitive to extremist-related cases. He defended the position taken by the Defense Ministry and army leadership, arguing that they are naturally expressing the concerns of the institution they represent.

He also emphasized Parliament’s right to summon ministers and question them over sensitive national matters, comparing the process to congressional oversight hearings in the United States.

“Questioning a minister does not mean targeting him,” he said.

Sayegh argued that Lebanon inherited a military court system that, during the Syrian era, frequently fabricated cases against political opponents.

“Anyone who opposed the Assad regime could suddenly find themselves accused and imprisoned,” he said, linking today’s prison overcrowding and Islamist detainee crisis to policies from that period.

Discussing the case of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, Sayegh said he does not possess all the details but believes the case deserves a retrial because of longstanding allegations that parts of the file were manipulated.

He also pointed to the case of Lebanese Army pilot Samer Hanna, whose Hezbollah-linked killer was released after only a short period in detention, saying the military judiciary has applied “double standards.”

Sayegh said the purpose of the MPs’ meeting with President Aoun was to achieve the broadest possible political consensus while reassuring all sides through the intervention of the head of state.

“Army martyrs are sacred,” he said, while acknowledging that the families of victims oppose sentence reductions and that the issue therefore requires both national sensitivity and humanitarian consideration.

The Kataeb MP also expressed concern that Berri may retreat from previous commitments, arguing that the speaker ultimately “cannot control Hezbollah.” He noted that Hezbollah had previously reassured Berri there would be no war before events proved otherwise.

Sayegh praised Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, describing his positions as “truly national” and saying his strength lies in “his ideas, his credibility and the broad support surrounding him.”

Discussing the 1983 May 17 Agreement between Lebanon and Israel, Sayegh argued that the accord had been unfairly demonized over the years.

He noted that former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat recently acknowledged that former President Amine Gemayel had been treated unfairly over the issue.

According to Sayegh, the agreement itself was beneficial to Lebanon because it guaranteed a full Israeli withdrawal, secured Lebanon’s rights to the Qana field and ensured deployment of the Lebanese Army to the border.

“It was never about normalization or opening markets,” he said. “It focused on security arrangements and a return to the armistice framework.”

Sayegh argued that the agreement ultimately collapsed because Israel concluded the Lebanese state was incapable of imposing sovereignty due to Syrian obstruction and the actions of Syrian-backed groups.

He described this as “the first Israeli blow” against the agreement despite the Lebanese Parliament’s approval at the time.

Sayegh also described Lebanon during that era as an arena for confrontation between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, noting that U.S. military forces were deployed in Beirut and along the Lebanese coast through the Sixth Fleet and the aircraft carrier New Jersey, while Syria operated with Soviet backing.

He insisted that slain President-elect Bashir Gemayel “was never subordinate to Israel” and rejected Israeli dictates even at the height of the war.

“That is what the Kataeb Party stands for,” he said.

Sayegh also defended many Lebanese who fled to Israel during the conflict, arguing that most were civilians from border villages rather than collaborators.

“These were families trapped in impossible circumstances trying to protect themselves,” he said.

Discussing southern border villages, particularly Rmeish, Sayegh said many humanitarian evacuations later became politicized and called on the Lebanese Army to fully return to those areas.

On the ongoing ceasefire negotiations, Sayegh argued that Berri has been unable to secure any real commitment from Hezbollah and questioned whether the group genuinely wants the fighting to stop.

“Does Hezbollah actually want a ceasefire?” he asked. “The continuation of the war serves its interests because its support base remains unified during confrontation.”

He argued that Hezbollah fears its own constituency fully realizing the consequences of the war and therefore prefers to keep tensions alive.

According to Sayegh, Hezbollah instructed residents to remain in shelters even after the ceasefire while simultaneously rejecting the ongoing negotiations in Washington because it wants Lebanon’s file to remain tied to Iran’s negotiations with the United States.

“Hezbollah only recognizes negotiation tracks connected to Tehran,” he said. “It does not want the Lebanese state to play any meaningful independent role.”

Sayegh described the removal of Lebanon’s file from direct U.S.-Iran negotiations as “the first major achievement” before talks even began.

He argued that Lebanon should tell both Israel and the United States that it seeks not a temporary truce but “a comprehensive peace with a clear roadmap.”

“The era of the May 17 Agreement and the armistice agreement is over,” Sayegh said bluntly. “We want peace with Israel.”

At the same time, he stressed that there is a difference between peace and surrender.

“What Hezbollah is doing today is surrender,” he said, warning that continued Israeli advances could eventually lead to the collapse of southern Lebanon and a decisive weakening of the Lebanese state.

Sayegh said the Kataeb Party supports a “state-to-state relationship” with Israel built around a clear roadmap and timetable that demonstrates Lebanon’s seriousness.

He also warned that U.S. President Donald Trump could eventually lose patience with Lebanon and decide to leave Beirut to negotiate directly with Israel on its own.

According to Sayegh, Ambassador Simon Karam receives his negotiating instructions from President Aoun rather than Hezbollah, describing both men as acting with “political realism.”

He characterized the talks underway in Washington as “minimum-level negotiations,” repeating his belief that Hezbollah does not truly want the war to end but instead seeks to keep the front active until Iran completes its own negotiations.

“Hezbollah believes it still has enough weapons and fighters to continue,” he said, noting that the group once publicly announced its casualty figures but has since stopped doing so.

Sayegh concluded by condemning what he described as insults directed at Saudi envoy Yazid bin Farhan and Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, saying the offense targeted both Bkerki and Saudi Arabia.

He said Berri should have contacted Patriarch al-Rahi to condemn the incident and establish “clear red lines.”

“It is political absurdity to attack Saudi Arabia from Lebanon while even Iran itself is no longer attacking Riyadh,” Sayegh said.

He ended by calling for calm and for all Lebanese parties to sit together and discuss the country’s future once the issue of weapons is resolved.