Article link: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-french-us-officials-push-hezbollah-disarmament-plan-2025-12-18/
French, Saudi Arabian, and U.S. officials met in Paris with Lebanon’s army chief to finalize a roadmap aimed at disarming the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, diplomats said. The talks are meant to strengthen mechanisms to verify and support Lebanon’s compliance with a U.S. brokered 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that ended more than a year of fighting but has been strained by ongoing tensions and Israeli strikes questioning progress on disarmament. Officials discussed reinforcing the ceasefire framework, potentially with international military exports and U.N. peacekeepers, and agreed to hold a February conference to bolster the Lebanese army’s capacity. Diplomats expressed concern that Lebanon’s upcoming 2026 elections and internal politics could weaken political will and noted that President Joseph Aoun is cautious about provoking tensions in the country’s Shi’ite community.
This article is very important because If a potential peace deal is under way it could help solve one of the major conflicts in the Middle East. This deal really comes down to the election coming up in Lebanon. Joseph Aoun is less likely to accept this deal because he is up for re-election and he fears the Shi’ite community will not support him if he disarms Hezbollah. It’s unfortunate that a lust for power is what’s keeping peace from the Middle East. In the 1980’s Hezbollah was formed because of the Israeli occupation of Lebanon and that is a big reason why Hezbollah doesn’t like them today. This could affect the region by having one of the major actors in the Israel-Palistine war be disarmed and pulled out of the conflict; it could lead to peace in the region. Israel might be able to work with states like Saudi Arabia who have been hesitant to be allied with them because of the ties they have with the Arab countries in the area.
I think the main stake holders in this Article are Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and the U.S. Saudi Arabia has already responded to this event by helping propose a disarmament plan for Hezbollah. Lebanon really has two options. They can accept the plan which would most likely lead to the current president not be reelected or they could reject this plan and let Hezbollah and Israel continue to fight. The U.S. has the option of using hard or soft power to “persuade” Lebanon to accept the deal but they most likely won’t.
This post relates to class because The U.S. views Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. This article also gives a really good view into why the Middle East is labeled as a shatter belt.