Arms have been central to Hezbollah's doctrine since it was founded by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to fight Israeli forces who invaded Lebanon in 1982, at the height of the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war. Tensions over the Shi'ite Muslim group's arsenal sparked another, brief civil conflict in 2008.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Hezbollah affirmed that the Zionist aggression is a flagrant violation of international laws and norms and a continuation of the ongoing attacks carried out by the Israeli enemy against Lebanon, Palestine, and Yemen, as well as Iran.

A Lebanese A-29 Super Tucano student pilot and a U.S. instructor pilot train in 2017 at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. The State Department approved a $100 million sale to Lebanon on July 11, 2025, for delivery of parts, equipment and logistical support for the country's Super Tucano planes. (Zachary Wolf/U.S. Air Force)

U.S. Envoy Thomas Barrack welcomes Lebanon's response to proposal calling for Hezbollah disarmament within four months, suggesting potential peace talks with Israel

Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem has reaffirmed the group’s refusal to disarm while Israel continues its airstrikes and occupies parts of southern Lebanon.

BEIRUT -- A U.S. envoy said Monday he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm the militant Hezbollah group, adding that Washington is ready to help the small crisis-hit nation emerge from its long-running political and economic crisis.

Hezbollah, having been degraded by Israel during the low-intensity war of attrition in 2023 and 2024 and the all-out two-month war in 2024, is reeling from its defeat as it attempts to regroup and recover.

The US Drug Enforcement Agency dismantled an international drug cartel with ties to the ISI, China, and Canada, arresting Opinder Singh Sian, also known as Thanos. Sian operated a global fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking ring from British Columbia.