Ali Larijani

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug. 15 (UPI) — Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem issued a strong warning to the Lebanese government against moving forward with its plan to disarm the Iran-backed militant group, accusing it of acting on orders from the United States and Israel, and threatening that such a move could spark a civil war.

Qassem said his group will not “surrender its weapons” while Israel, which significantly weakened Hezbollah during a 14-month war last year, remains a threat and continues to strike Lebanon, occupy parts of its territories and hold Lebanese prisoners.

“We will fight this as a Karbala-style battle if necessary, confronting this Israeli-American scheme no matter the cost, confident that we will emerge victorious,” he said in a televised speech released Friday.

To Muslim Shiites, Karbala means standing against tyranny, sacrifice and steadfastness in the face of overwhelming odds.

Qassem’s strong warning came after he met with Iran Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, who visited Beirut on Wednesday, where he heard firm statements from President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam rejecting any interference in their country’s internal affairs.

Larijani tried to play down recent comments by Iranian political and military officials who criticized the Lebanese government for endorsing the objectives of a U.S.-proposed plan to disarm Hezbollah and for tasking the Lebanese Army with developing a strategy to enforce a state monopoly on weapons by the end of the year.

The Iranian officials also maintained that Hezbollah, which has been funded and armed by Iran since its formation in the early 1980s, would never be disarmed.

Qassem said the government took “a very dangerous decision” last week, exposing the country to “a major crisis” and stripping it of “defensive weapons during times of aggression.”

He also accused it of “serving the Israeli agenda” and carrying out “an order” from the U.S. and Israel “to end the resistance, even if that leads to a civil war and internal strife.”

He held the government fully responsible for any sectarian strife, internal explosion, or destruction of Lebanon and warned it against dragging the Army into such an internal conflict.

Qassem, said, however, there “is still an opportunity, room for dialogue and for making adjustments before reaching a confrontation that no one wants.”

He added that Hezbollah was ready for confrontation and that demonstrations will be held across Lebanon, including “heading to the U.S. Embassy,” located in Awkar, north of Beirut.

Hezbollah, which reportedly lost the bulk of its military capabilities in ongoing Israeli airstrikes targeting its positions in southern and eastern Lebanon, accepted the ceasefire accord to stop a war that killed or wounded more than 20,000 people and left border villages in southern Lebanon in ruins.

While it implicitly agreed to discuss its weapons as part of a national defense strategy, the group resisted government efforts to set a timetable for disarming — a key U.S. condition for unlocking much-needed international and Gulf Arab funding to support Lebanon’s reconstruction and economic recovery.

Lebanon’s decision to set a timeline for Hezbollah disarming was mainly motivated by the risk of another devastating war with Israel and of losing well-needed funds to rebuild its war-devastated regions.

“Let us work together to build the country, so that we may all win,” Qassem said. “There is no life for Lebanon if you choose to stand on the opposite side.”

May 31 (UPI) — Iran has increased production of highly enriched uranium, according to the United Nations nuclear watchdog, as the nation conducts talks with the United States on a nuclear deal.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said the Middle East country now possesses more than 408.6 kilograms, or 900 pounds, of uranium enriched to 60% purity as of May 17, according to a confidential report obtained by the BBC and Al Jazeera.

That’s a nearly 50% increase since February.

In December, the IAEA said Iran was rapidly moving closer to the 90% threshold needed for weapons-grade material.

This is enough for about 10 nuclear weapons if further refined.

Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed state producing uranium at this level.

“The significantly increased production and accumulation of highly enriched uranium by Iran … is of serious concern,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said.

IAEA concluded that Tehran conducted nuclear activities at three previously unknown sites: Lavisan-Shian, Varamin, Turquzabad.

And IAEA stated said it “cannot verify” the development of nuclear weapons, citing Iran’s refusal to grant access to senior inspectors and not answer questions about its nuclear history.

The IAEA board plans to meet in the coming days to discuss next steps.

Iran has long said its nuclear enrichment is for peaceful purposes.

“If the issue is nuclear weapons, yes, we too consider this type of weapon unacceptable,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a televised speech. “We agree with them on this issue.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday in a statement that Iran is “totally determined” to acquire nuclear weapons.

“Such a level of enrichment exists only in countries actively pursuing nuclear weapons and has no civilian justification whatsoever,” Netanyahu’s office said.

U.S. officials estimate Ian could produce weapons-grade material in less than two weeks and potentially build a bomb within months.

Since talks began in April, both sides have expressed optimism but are divided over key issues, including whether Iran can continue enrichment under any future agreement.

Two of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei‘s advisors — Ali Larijani and Kamal Kharazi — have suggested Iran might reconsider building nuclear weapons if international pressure mounts.

The IAEA findings could be a negotiation tool for Iran, Hamed Mousavi, professor of political science at Tehran University, told Al Jazeera.

“I think both sides are trying to build leverage against the other side,” he said. “From the Iranian perspective, an advancement in the nuclear program is going to bring them leverage at the negotiation table with the Americans.

“Enriching up to 60% – from the Iranian perspective – is a sort of leverage against the Americans to lift sanctions.”

He said the U.S. could threaten more sanctions and refer the situation to the U.N. Security Council for its breach of the 2006 non-proliferation agreement.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he sees a nuclear deal with Iran that would allow the destruction of labs and inspections. Iran has rejected inspections.

He said a deal is “very strong, where we can go in with inspectors. We can take whatever we want. We can blow up whatever we want. But nobody getting killed.”

In 2018, Trump unilaterally exited the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and reimposed harsh sanctions.

In 2015, Iran reached a deal with the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Russia, China and the European Union.

Some sanctions on Iran were lifted for limits on its nuclear development program.