Rajji: Army may ask for 2 more weeks for submission of disarmament plan

Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji on Wednesday described the government’s decision on arms monopolization as “historic,” saying that Lebanon has asked U.S. envoy Tom Barrack for “an Israeli step in return.”

“We’ve gone through decades of occupation and the hegemony of movements that have nothing to do with Lebanon,” Rajji added in remarks to Al-Arabiya TV, while stressing that “there will be no turning back on the decision to monopolize arms.”

Rajji also revealed that “the army will present its arms monopoly plan in September” and that “it might ask for two additional weeks to present its final plan” to the government.

Cabinet had on August 5 tasked the army with the presenting the unprecedented plan before the end of the month, with an ultimate goal of removing the weapons of all armed groups in the country by year end.

As for his boycott of Iranian Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani’s latest visit to Lebanon, Rajji said he did not meet the Iranian official due to “his leadership’s attack on Lebanon.”

“I do not accept Iran’s armament of a party operating outside the state and we have repeatedly told the Iranians not to interfere in our affairs,” Rajji told Al-Arabiya.

“There is no problem in Iran voicing its opinion but rather in its support for rebellion against the state,” the ministers added.

He also suggested that “the Shiite community has been hijacked by Hezbollah, which is exploiting it,” warning that “those who speak of civil war have an intention to ignite it.”