Hezbollah MP says self-defense 'natural right' after explosives bust

Hezbollah MP Ibrahim al-Moussawi said that self-defense is "a natural right" after the army and security forces seized explosives suspected of belonging to Hezbollah, while rejecting claims that the group is planning assassinations.

"If it is true (that the explosives belong to Hezbollah), the resistance feels no shame," he said, adding that "self-defense is a natural right for the resistance as long as the attacks continue, Israeli forces remain on Lebanese soil, and the government and military are unable to confront them".

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam vowed Monday to deal firmly with illegal weapons. "We will not be lenient in following up and expanding the investigation in order to identify all those involved in this criminal operation, and those behind them," he said.

"We will deal with weapons outside the legal framework with the required firmness," he added, whether regarding their possession, transportation or use.

Salam also said that he understood "Lebanese worries" over the C4, particularly as it "has been used in a number of political assassinations" in Lebanon's history.

- Detonators -

Earlier this month, Lebanon's army said it had seized "approximately 245 kg of TNT, four explosive devices, eight detonators and electrical wiring for the detonators", which were being "smuggled from Syrian territory into Lebanese territory", adding that the smugglers fled towards Syria.

Lebanon and Syria share a 330-kilometre border known for being porous.

Hezbollah has been accused of carrying out assassinations of political figures who opposed Damascus, particularly between 2005 and 2008.

A U.N.-backed court in 2020 sentenced a fugitive Hezbollah member for the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri, with the court subsequently sentencing two more Hezbollah members in absentia.

Lebanese authorities last year committed to disarming Hezbollah, after hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in 2023 and culminated in all-out war the following year, decimating the group's leadership.

The 2024 toppling of Assad also severed the group's key weapons supply line from Iran, and Syria's new authorities regularly say they have seized weapons headed for Lebanon.