Iran Panics as Lebanon Edges Closer to Dismantling Hezbollah

As Lebanon's government prepares for a pivotal meeting on disarming Hezbollah, Iran is ramping up desperate last-minute pressures to salvage its battered proxy, fearing a devastating loss of influence in the region.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi publicly asserted that "any decision will be made by Hezbollah alone," while adding that Iran "supports it from afar." Behind this measured tone lies mounting anxiety in Tehran, where officials recognize that losing Hezbollah, built over 40 years with billions in annual funding, would be a catastrophic strategic setback.

Iranian media outlets close to the Revolutionary Guards, like Tasnim, have lashed out, framing the disarmament as an "American and Zionist-implanted plan" that "will not succeed and will return to them in the grave." This rhetoric reflects a sense of siege, as Western assessments suggest Lebanon's pro-US, Western-leaning government is poised to capitalize on Hezbollah's weakened state post its conflict with Israel.

Yesterday, the Saudi newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat" reported that Hezbollah expressed willingness to give up its long-range missiles. According to Lebanese sources quoted in the newspaper, the organization offered to hand over the missiles in exchange for stopping the Israeli attacks and allowing Lebanon to rebuild the southern areas.

Senior Arab affairs commentator Zvi Yehezkeli explains, "This is what the beginning of surrender looks ... After the heavy weapons and missiles, Hezbollah wants the light weapons in its possession. Whoever has no weapons invites the next massacre. Therefore, Hezbollah will not rush to give up the light weapons and will look for an interim deal like this proposal."

Hezbollah, once the "crown jewel" of Iran's Shiite axis, has been hammered by internal strife, recruitment drops, and budget woes. If dismantled, Iran loses not just a military outpost but decades of civilian, political, and economic leverage in Lebanon.

Will Lebanon achieve the unthinkable? Time will tell, but one thing is clear: Iran is sweating.