Lebanon enters talks with Israel but with no cards to play

Since coming to power, President Aoun has defended a policy he calls the “state monopoly on arms”. As part of the ceasefire deal in 2024, Hezbollah had agreed to remove its fighters and weapons from southern Lebanon which, for decades, had effectively been under the group’s control. Hezbollah also holds sway over Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahieh, and the eastern Bekaa Valley, where part of its arsenal is located, but Naim Qassem, its secretary-general, has rejected discussing a full, nationwide disarmament.