In a sweeping interview with the Middle East Institute’s Brian Katulis, Lebanese Member of Parliament Fouad Makhzoumi offered one of the most candid — and optimistic — assessments of his country’s trajectory in years: a Lebanon at the edge of either historic transformation or renewed conflict, with the outcome hinging on Hezbollah’s disarmament and the courage of a new generation of leaders.

Makhzoumi, speaking from Beirut on May 26, 2026, described a country that has endured decades of militia rule, economic collapse, and proxy warfare — but one that, for the first time since the civil war era, has a government willing to challenge the structures that produced those outcomes.

A New Government — and a New Moment

The election of Lebanon’s president in January 2025, followed by the formation of a cabinet under Prime Minister Nawab Salam, marked what Makhzoumi called a genuine break from the past. Since 2005, he argued, Lebanon had functioned under the shadow of Hezbollah and what he termed a “deep state” — a political mafia that controlled budgets, blocked independent actors, and ensured that loyalty flowed to the militia, not the republic.

He noted that the new government had even extended an olive branch — giving Hezbollah two cabinet seats to encourage engagement with the peace process. The result, he said, was instructive: Hezbollah used those seats to obstruct government decisions and attempt what he described as a “coup” against the administration from within.

Hezbollah: A Militia in Decline but Still Defiant

Polling data, Makhzoumi told MEI, reveals a sea change in Lebanese public opinion. Across the Sunni community, support for Hezbollah’s arms has collapsed — over 60–70% now favor peace. Among the Druze the figure rises above 72%, and among Christians to over 90%. Even within the Shia community, the traditional Hezbollah base, roughly one-third now openly oppose the group’s military posture.

In a symbolic milestone, Sunni MPs convened in Beirut and issued a joint statement supporting direct negotiations with Israel — something that would have been politically unthinkable just a few years ago. “The majority of the Lebanese are saying enough is enough,” Makhzoumi declared. “Let’s move on.”

The Disarmament Blueprint: Start in Beirut

On the central security question — how to actually disarm Hezbollah — Makhzoumi offered a specific, sequenced proposal that breaks from the vague aspirations that have characterized past discussions.

His plan begins not in the south of the Litani River, where Israeli and Lebanese army tensions remain highest, but in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, Hezbollah’s urban stronghold. By deploying a Lebanese army division to control the entry and exit of that district and halt weapons movement, the government would demonstrate, in concrete terms, that disarmament is not a slogan but a process underway.

This step would dovetail with technical meetings already scheduled — including talks at the Pentagon on May 29th between Lebanese army commanders, Israeli officials, and U.S. mediators — that aim to provide the Lebanese armed forces with the capacity and coordination mechanisms to move south progressively. A third meeting between Lebanese and Israeli officials is set for June 3rd.

The Economic Vision: Lebanon’s Human Capital as Its Greatest Asset

Makhzoumi, who built one of the world’s top three pipe-manufacturing companies from an $8 million business to a $1.1 billion operation in seven years, spoke with the precision of someone who has run complex organizations across 50 countries. His diagnosis of Lebanon’s economy was unsparing.

Lebanon has no planning ministry. It employs 330,000 government workers — and another 130,000 phantom “retired” payroll beneficiaries — for a country of five million people. It imports $19 billion and exports less than $3 billion. Customs revenues have collapsed by 70% not because trade fell, but because corruption is rampant at the ports. Saudi Arabia offered 22 bilateral agreements in 2018 that could have doubled Lebanon’s GDP from $50 billion to $100 billion; Lebanon declined because militia interests blocked them.

His prescription centers on Lebanon’s underutilized comparative advantage: an educated, multilingual, globally networked population. He cited his own investment in an artificial intelligence center at the Lebanese American University in 2014 as an example of the direction Lebanon must take. Rather than competing in agriculture or basic services — where the Gulf has long since surpassed it — Lebanon should position itself as a high-value knowledge economy: innovation, back-office services, finance, and advanced engineering.

Peace with Israel: “Eight Times We Have Signed Agreements”

Perhaps the most striking element of the interview was Makhzoumi’s direct challenge to the taboo surrounding Lebanese-Israeli relations. Listing the agreements, understandings, and technical coordination frameworks that Lebanon and Israel have already concluded — from the 1949 Armistice to the 2023 maritime demarcation — he argued that the idea of Israel as an off-limits subject is a manufactured constraint, not a historical reality.

“Eight times we signed agreements with Israel,” he said flatly. “So come on — let’s move on and really come to a finding that we can all live happily in this region.” He called on Lebanon to suspend the 1955 boycott law against Israel as a goodwill gesture and to send a clear signal of intent to the international community.

Iran, the U.S., and the Regional Equation

On the ongoing U.S.–Iran nuclear talks — which have cast a long shadow over Lebanon’s stability in the spring of 2026 — Makhzoumi expressed cautious optimism. He articulated four pillars he believes must anchor any agreement: no nuclear weapons capability for Iran, reduced ballistic missile capacity, containment of Iranian proxies, and a framework for regional security that allows all neighbors to live in peace.

If those pillars hold, he said, the effect on Lebanon would be transformative — Hezbollah’s external financing would be curtailed, its regional rationale would collapse, and the Lebanese government would gain the space to assert full sovereignty. His ultimate ask of Washington: a formal security pact between Lebanon and the United States, leveraging American influence over both Israel and Syria to anchor peace from both borders.