Lebanon: Hezbollah Links National Security Strategy Talks to Reconstruction Efforts

A machine clears rubble at a damaged site in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon May 19, 2025. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
A machine clears rubble at a damaged site in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon May 19, 2025. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
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Lebanon: Hezbollah Links National Security Strategy Talks to Reconstruction Efforts

A machine clears rubble at a damaged site in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon May 19, 2025. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
A machine clears rubble at a damaged site in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon May 19, 2025. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah officials continued in southern Lebanon as the party maintains that discussions of its arsenal or the national security strategy hinge on several key issues, mainly the reconstruction efforts.

Hezbollah continues to link any discussion of its weapons to a set of conditions, hindering the government’s process for reform.
Hezbollah MP Hasan Fadlallah accused the government of shunning its responsibilities, although the international community has made it clear that aid for reconstruction after Israel’s war on Lebanon is contingent on the country implementing political and economic reforms, as well as ensuring that weapons are solely in the hands of the state.

“Positions made by some in the government are not only outside the bounds of the ministerial statement, but also contradict it entirely, shunning the responsibilities the government has vowed to the Lebanese people”, said Fadlallah at a ceremony held by the party.

He added that the parliament granted the government its vote of confidence based on the vows the government made in the ministerial statement, “but it seems some are trying to be selective in these commitments based on personal wishes, preferences, or even foreign dictates”, said the MP.

Fadlallah went on to say “the first clause of the ministerial statement commits the government to expediting the reconstruction of what the Israeli enemy has destroyed. The second clause tasks the government with bearing full responsibility for national security, protecting Lebanon’s borders and entry points, and deterring aggression. The third calls for all necessary measures to liberate occupied Lebanese territories”.

He questioned the government’s performance and priorities saying: “What have they done regarding these three clauses?..Has the government fulfilled its commitment to reconstruction? There are five or six provisions that need to be implemented first, after which the discussion about Lebanon’s defense, that requires a comprehensive national security strategy, can be addressed.”

He underscored that “once these clauses are implemented, only then we can discuss other matters."

Also, Hezbollah officials have escalated criticisms towards Prime Minister Nawaf Salam after the latter’s “decisive” statements regarding the party’s disarmament.
“The relations between Hezbollah and PM Nawaf Salam remain based on what is left of goodwill and has not been severed. Channels of communication are still active”, said Hezbollah bloc member Amin Sherri.

Regarding the atmosphere surrounding last week’s meeting between Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance bloc and President Joseph Aoun, Sherri said in a radio interview that it was “excellent and positive,” with discussions focused on key agreed-upon issues.



Six Local Officials Detained Over Iraq Deadly Mall Fire

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
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Six Local Officials Detained Over Iraq Deadly Mall Fire

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS

Iraq has detained six local officials and suspended other public employees following a fire that killed 61 people at a shopping mall earlier this week, authorities said Saturday.

The blaze broke out late Wednesday in a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut.

After an initial investigation, the interior ministry said "there was clear negligence among several officials and employees" in Kut, located around 160 kilometers southeast of Baghdad.

It added that three local officials, including the head of civil defense in Kut, had been detained, and 17 employees suspended from work until further notice.

The Commission of Integrity, an anti-graft body, said later that security forces had detained three more officials "over the violations that led to the fire" at the Corniche Hypermarket Mall, including the head of the violations department at Kut's municipality.

Officials say their investigation is ongoing, and the number of detainees may change.

The cause of the mall fire was not immediately known, but one survivor told AFP an air conditioner had exploded on the second floor before the five-story building was rapidly engulfed in flames.

Several people told AFP they lost family members -- and in some cases whole families -- who had gone to shop and dine at the mall days after it opened.