Arab News | Lebanon PM vows firm action against illegal weapons after explosives seizure

BEIRUT: The government will not tolerate anyone who dares to tamper with Lebanon’s security, and we will deal with them firmly, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Monday.

“The Lebanese people’s concern stems from the fact that the shipment of explosives contained C-4, a substance used in political assassinations,” said Salam.

Lebanese authorities arrested two suspected Hezbollah members accused of secretly transporting half-a-ton of explosives, a judicial source told AFP on Saturday.

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the two men were caught Thursday afternoon at a security checkpoint in Dahr Al-Baidar in Lebanon’s east, near a road linking the country with Syria.

They were in a car heading toward Beirut.

After searching the vehicle, security forces seized “250 kilograms (551 pounds) of TNT-type explosives and 250 kilograms of C4-type, a highly explosive substance,” the source said.

Based on initial investigations, one of the suspects is the son of a Hezbollah official and the other is also a member of the Iran-backed militant group, according to the source.

The explosives’ destination remains unknown, the source added.

Lebanese authorities have not confirmed the source’s information.

But Justice Minister Adel Nassar vowed on X Saturday that “the investigation into the seized explosives, and everything that follows from it, will continue to the very end.”

He insisted that work toward “disarming illegal groups, combating terrorism and prosecuting all outlaws is… irreversible and speeding up.”

Lebanon approved a plan to disarm Hezbollah in 2025, following a ceasefire the previous November that ended a devastating war between the group and Israel.

However, the conflict flared back to life in March this year when Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of Iran in the Middle East war.

Israel invaded in response and now occupies a band of territory in Lebanon’s south.

A new ceasefire was struck in June, and Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a framework deal that involves Hezbollah’s disarmament, a gradual Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region.

Syria, under former ruler Bashar Assad — a Hezbollah ally — served as a major route for supplies channelled to the group by Tehran.

But since the new Islamist authorities toppled Assad at the end of 2024, Syria has regularly announced the interception of weapons shipments destined for Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which fought on Assad’s side in Syria’s civil war, denies having any presence on Syrian territory.