Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told visiting Iranian security chief Ali Larijani on 13 August that Beirut "rejects any interference in our internal affairs" and will insist that all weapons remain under state control. The remarks were issued after Tehran criticised a Lebanese cabinet decision, endorsed by Washington, ordering the army to devise a timetable to dismantle all non-state armed groups, including Hezbollah. Larijani, the most senior Iranian official to visit Lebanon since the vote, denied meddling but said Iran would "always support the resistance" and argued that it was the United States, not Tehran, dictating policy to Beirut. He added that any final decision on disarmament should be made "in consultation with the resistance," a reference to Hezbollah. Tensions escalated two days later when Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem used a televised address to warn that the government would "bear full responsibility" for any turmoil if it attempted to seize the group’s arsenal. "There will be no life in Lebanon" if the plan proceeds, he said, adding that future street protests could target the U.S. embassy and that the movement was ready to fight "no matter the cost" to keep its arms. The threats were swiftly condemned by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Justice Minister Adel Nassar and five former Lebanese presidents, who said Hezbollah’s stance obstructs the restoration of state authority and risks dragging the country into civil war. They insisted that the cabinet’s decision is sovereign, Lebanese-made and requires weapons to be handed to the national army, not to Israel as Hezbollah alleges. The dispute underscores the fragility of Lebanon’s political order less than a year after a cease-fire ended a devastating 14-month war with Israel. Whether Beirut can enforce its disarmament plan without triggering new unrest—and how far Iran will go in backing its ally—now dominate the country’s security outlook.