Hezbollah’s weapons are an internal Lebanese matter and off the table in any negotiations with Israel, says Naim Qassem. The group’s chief made the declaration Tuesday as a third round of Lebanon-Israel talks in Washington is set for this week, vowing his fighters would turn the battlefield into “hell” for Israeli forces.

Are Hezbollah’s weapons part of the Lebanon-Israel negotiations?

No. Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said Tuesday the group’s weapons are strictly an internal Lebanese matter and will not be part of any negotiations with Israel.

“Nobody outside Lebanon has anything to do with the weapons, the resistance,” he said in a written statement broadcast on the group’s Al-Manar television channel.

What did Qassem say about the Washington talks?

Qassem called on Lebanese authorities to withdraw from the direct negotiations, describing them as “pure gains for Israel and free concessions by the Lebanese authorities.”

He framed the broader conflict as an “Israeli-American aggression” aimed at subjugating Lebanon. The statement was addressed directly to Hezbollah’s fighters and broadcast on Al-Manar.

A third round of talks between Lebanese and Israeli representatives is scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Washington.

The first direct meeting between the two sides in decades was held last month, after which US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire.

Why have the Lebanon-Israel talks divided opinion in Beirut?

The Washington negotiations have exposed sharp divisions inside Lebanon. Hezbollah has rejected direct talks with Israel outright and said their outcomes do not concern the group.

Qassem reaffirmed Tuesday that responsibility for pursuing Lebanon’s sovereign objectives rests with Lebanese authorities, while pledging his group’s readiness to cooperate with them.

“We will not surrender and we will continue to defend Lebanon and its people, however long it takes and however great the sacrifices,” Qassem said. “We will not abandon the battlefield and we will turn it into hell for Israel.”

What has the US said about Hezbollah’s disarmament?

Washington has been direct about its expectations. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that a peace deal between Lebanon and Israel is achievable, but identified Hezbollah as the central obstacle.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott added that Washington sees comprehensive peace as contingent on the full restoration of Lebanese state authority and the complete disarmament of Hezbollah.

What is the current situation on the ground in south Lebanon?

Israel has intensified strikes in south Lebanon even as it trades fire with Hezbollah under the April 17 truce, which allows Israel to act against what it describes as planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.

Israeli troops who entered after war erupted on March 2 continue to operate inside a so-called “yellow line” near the border. Hezbollah has maintained attacks on Israeli targets in south Lebanon and across the border, saying they are responses to Israeli ceasefire violations.

Qassem also suggested that a potential Iranian-US agreement halting aggression in Lebanon would be “the strongest card for stopping” the conflict.