Makhzoumi Takes on Hezbollah’s Qassem: “You Have No Standing to Play Guardian of the Republic”
Lebanese MP and Prime Minister candidate Fouad Makhzoumi tells Hezbollah’s leader that the state cannot be held hostage to Tehran, and demands the group hand over its arms.
Faith & Freedom News (FFN) · September 29, 2026
Source: FFN Monitoring Cell
BEIRUT — Lebanese MP and Prime Minister candidate Makhzoumi has delivered a sharp rebuttal to Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem, accusing him of the “delusional pretence” of speaking for Lebanon at a time when, he argues, the majority of Lebanese have had enough of forever wars and of Hezbollah’s usurping of the state and the Lebanese army.
The response, published on X, follows a statement by Qassem in which he cast Hezbollah as a guardian of the Constitution and the Taif Agreement.
“We will not allow you to appoint yourselves guardians of the Republic when you have usurped its authority and subordinated its decisions to Iran.”
“The Constitution is not a tool for blackmail”
Makhzoumi argued that those who “dragged Lebanon into wars and left its people to pay the price” have no standing to judge the President in the name of the Constitution, or to hold the government responsible for a catastrophe they themselves caused. Nor, he said, is the Taif Agreement “a text you can invoke to attack legitimate institutions while ignoring its requirement to surrender your weapons.”
“Before questioning the state about its duties,” he said, “end your stranglehold over it and hand over your arms.”
Backing for Aoun and Salam
The candidate pledged firm support for President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, saying their government’s work so far puts Lebanon “on the right path toward restoring its institutions, reclaiming its national decision-making and rebuilding the confidence of its Arab partners and international friends.” He vowed not to allow Hezbollah’s campaigns to obstruct these efforts or “force the state back into submission to your conditions.”
Explore the argument
Makhzoumi asked what Hezbollah’s weapons have achieved for the people of the South: “Where is the security you promised them? What kind of victory is measured in more destroyed villages and displaced families?” He said the Lebanese have paid for those weapons “with their lives, homes and livelihoods.”
He said he wants Hezbollah disarmed “before anyone else in the world does,” while insisting he is also “the first to demand a complete Israeli withdrawal,” refusing to accept Israel remaining on “a single inch of Lebanese soil.” Protecting land and people, he said, is the responsibility of the state and its army, not a license to hold the South hostage to an Iranian agenda.
Answering Qassem’s remarks on economic collapse and electricity, he said Hezbollah and its allies were “at the heart of the power structure that brought Lebanon to this point.” The failures of the political and banking establishment do not absolve Hezbollah, he said, “and yours does not absolve them.” He called for corruption to be held to account and for financial reforms that restore depositors’ rights.
The demands, step by step
Tap each step to read Makhzoumi’s framing.
Source: FFN Monitoring Cell. Statement by Makhzoumi on X. More coverage at Faith & Freedom News.
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