Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has accused Lebanon’s government of “handing” the country to Israel by pushing for the group’s disarmament , warning it would fight to keep its weapons.

Qassem spoke in a televised address on Friday after meeting Iran’s top security chief, Ali Larijani. Tehran has long backed the Lebanese armed group.

Hezbollah emerged badly weakened from last year’s war with Israel, and under United States pressure, the Lebanese government has ordered the army to devise a plan to disarm the group by the end of the year.

Iran, whose “axis of resistance” includes Hezbollah, has also suffered a series of setbacks, most recently in its own war with Israel, which saw the US strike its nuclear sites.

“This is our nation together. We live in dignity together, and we build its

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