Salam warns unauthorized weapons storage and transport threaten public safety

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam reaffirmed that the state must have exclusive authority over weapons and decisions of war and peace, warning that the storage or transport of arms by unauthorized parties threatens public safety and must be met with legal action.

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Salam said the state’s exclusive control over weapons was enshrined in Lebanon’s Constitution and laws.

He stressed that only the Lebanese army, Internal Security Forces, General Security, State Security, Lebanese Customs and municipal police are legally authorized to carry weapons in Lebanon.

Salam said the provision was explicitly included in the original text of the cessation of hostilities agreement, approved by the previous government and reaffirmed by the current government in its policy statement and subsequent decisions. The word “exclusively,” he added, was part of the original text and had not been added later by any party.

He called on Hezbollah to abide by commitments it had repeatedly said it accepted, stressing that no party could share the state’s authority to decide on war and peace.

Salam said the government had asked the army to prepare a plan to implement the state’s exclusive control over weapons.

The prime minister warned that storing or transporting weapons outside the legally authorized institutions, regardless of the justification, violated the country’s laws and Cabinet decisions, endangered public safety and threatened citizens’ security. He called for security investigations and judicial prosecution, with offenders facing the full penalties prescribed by law.

“No one can impose limits on us beyond those set by the law, and nothing takes precedence over the safety of the country and the security of its citizens,” Salam said.

Addressing a separate agenda item concerning a proposal to refer the case of explosives seized in the Dahr al-Baidar and al-Qasr areas to the Judicial Council, Salam said he had deliberately not circulated the draft decree with the Cabinet agenda to prevent discussions from beginning outside the Cabinet meeting. He said he would ask the secretary-general to read the draft aloud when the item was discussed.

On electricity, Salam announced significant progress in talks with Qatar over a framework proposal to address Lebanon’s power crisis.

He described the Qatari proposal as a comprehensive plan to rehabilitate, develop and modernize electricity-generation infrastructure across different energy sources. The project would follow a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model, with Qatari entities responsible for financing, implementation and operation, without requiring an upfront investment from the Lebanese treasury.

Salam said the arrangement could provide electricity at lower costs for consumers and under more stable conditions. Energy Minister Joe Saddi and his technical team are reviewing the project’s technical details, which will be submitted to the Cabinet for discussion and a decision once all elements are finalized.

Salam noted that resolving the electricity crisis required more than increasing generation, and also depended on improving distribution and bill collection. He said he would coordinate with Saddi to convene a Cabinet session dedicated exclusively to the electricity file within the next two weeks.