Hezbollah’s political influence and rhetorical power have sharply declined, with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam openly rejecting its accusations and blaming the group for drawing Lebanon into destructive wars.

Implementation of the US-brokered framework to extend Lebanese state authority and disarm Hezbollah has stalled after limited LAF deployments in southern pilot zones, leaving the group’s weapons and parallel networks intact.

True restoration of Lebanese sovereignty requires concrete action to dismantle Hezbollah’s military, financial and political structures that operate above the state, rather than relying on symbolic pushback or continued tribal-style politics.

The value of any Hezbollah leader’s speech is falling faster than that of the Lebanese lira. There is no scale to measure the gap between Hassan Nasrallah’s addresses in 2006 and Naim Qassem’s latest lecture. This is complete bankruptcy. It is not about charisma or delivery but — like anything else in Lebanon — is a mirror of the country’s balance of power. Despite its arsenal of what should now be called illegal armaments, Hezbollah is depleted and deplorable. Qassem’s address had zero impact, with those once forced into silence now speaking the truth — not only from the opposition but also from within government.This represents a new political dynamic in Lebanon. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam broke with the traditional pattern of forced restraint and silence, directly pushing back against the current Hezbollah leader’s accusations that the government was serving Israeli interests. He hit back by saying that those who had taken unilateral decisions and drawn Lebanon into wars had inflicted the greatest damage. This was........

© Eurasia Review