Hezbollah leader rules out group's disarmament

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem released a statement on Wednesday rejecting calls for the disarmament of the Lebanese group under a June US-brokered framework agreement with Israel. “The resistance continues and will confront any aggression against it; there is no room for discussion regarding the surrender of its weapons,” Qassem said in his speech. “The framework agreement lacks legitimacy,” he said, calling it “in effect, null and void” and accusing it of surrending Lebanon's sovereignty to Israeli demands. “An end must be put to American tutelage and its control over certain key sectors of the Lebanese state,” he added, denouncing the US's support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and occupation of the West Bank.