LACC Urges Support for Presidents Aoun and Salam in Securing State Monopoly on Arms with US Guarantee

The Lebanese-American Coordination Committee (LACC) emphasized the critical nature of the current phase Lebanon is experiencing, describing it as an existential threat to the country's entity. The committee affirmed that the state, represented by the official authority, holds the exclusive right to decide on matters of war and peace, and that any military action outside the state lacks legitimacy. It called for both local and international support for the official authority's decisions, represented by President Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, urging solidarity with them in condemning the Iranian regime's conduct and opposing its covert attempts to hold Lebanon hostage, using it as a bargaining chip for its national security and turning it into a "jihad" arena. The committee also stressed its support and confidence in the Lebanese negotiating team and praised the role of US President Donald Trump and his administration for overseeing direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel to resolve all outstanding issues. It considered US sponsorship a fundamental guarantee for Lebanon in ending Israeli occupation manifestations on its lands.

The LACC, representing the broadest coalition of Lebanese Americans in the United States—including the American Lebanese Policy Institute (ALPI-PAC), Assembly for Lebanon (AFL), Lebanese-American Renaissance Partnership (LARP), Lebanese for Lebanon (LFLF), Lebanese Information Center (LIC), World Lebanese Cultural Union (WLCU), and the Civil Influence Forum (CIH) as the advisory organizer—held an emergency meeting to discuss the rapidly escalating and dangerous developments concerning Lebanon. The meeting also followed up on the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations, which were preparing for their fifth session in Washington under US sponsorship. The committee issued a statement shortly before the "Washington Table 5" convened in the US capital, distributing it simultaneously in Beirut and Washington. The statement read as follows:

"Everyone agrees on the severity of the phase Lebanon is passing through, rising to an existential threat to its entity, due to the confiscation of its sovereign decision, malicious efforts by the Iranian regime to impose guardianship over it, and deep infiltration by Hezbollah into state institutions in an attempt to disable and marginalize them. Additionally, the sectarian incitement campaigns launched by Hezbollah's propaganda apparatus threaten internal stability and civil peace.

Accordingly, the Lebanese-American Coordination Committee (LACC) declares the following:

First, it reaffirms that the state, represented by the official authority, holds the exclusive decision-making power over war and peace. No other party has the right to negotiate on behalf of Lebanon, claim to represent it, decide its fate, or conclude memoranda of understanding or agreements on its behalf.

Second, the committee stresses that weapons must be exclusively in the hands of the Lebanese state. Any military or security activity outside the state, particularly Hezbollah's weapons and operations, contradicts state sovereignty, constitutes a clear violation of the law, and poses a direct threat to Lebanon's civil peace.

Third, it calls for local and international support for the official authority's decision, represented by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, to restrict weapons to the state and to reject any military action outside the state as illegitimate. It urges the provision of conditions and capabilities to implement this decision effectively without delay, emphasizing empowering security forces, especially the Lebanese army, to carry out this national mission competently and effectively.

Fourth, the committee affirms that Hezbollah is an organic faction within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Its security and economic apparatus violate Lebanon's sovereignty and threaten internal stability and civil peace. Hezbollah continues to exercise its military superiority domestically, enforcing its control over state decisions by force, imposing a fait accompli, undermining Lebanon's security, and damaging Lebanon's reputation and international relations. Thus, maintaining this weapon in its current dangerous status means Lebanon remains captive to Iranian interference in its security and interests.

Fifth, the committee strongly supports the positions of the Lebanese presidency and government in condemning the Iranian regime's conduct and confronting its covert attempts to hold Lebanon hostage, using it as a negotiation card for its national security and turning it into an open "jihad" arena vital to its interests. This situation necessitates reconsidering Lebanese-Iranian relations on the basis of equality rather than guardianship, and on the exclusive reference of the state in all matters concerning its security and international relations.

Sixth, the committee states that negotiation in all its forms is a national option and a sovereign decision, not merely a political one. It responds to the desire of the majority of Lebanese exhausted by others' wars on their land, seeking a return to normal, safe life and restoring Lebanon to its known civilizational status. This right is legitimized by the Lebanese constitution and falls within the president's powers to "conclude international treaties and agreements in coordination with the prime minister."

Seventh, the committee warns against attempts by some intermediaries between Iran and the United States to assist Iran in securing diplomatic cover for Hezbollah's weapons, obtaining recognition of their legitimacy, and portraying them as a secondary or local issue for Lebanon. These attempts obscure the fact that Hezbollah's weapons are the core problem for state sovereignty and the main obstacle to Lebanon's renaissance. Any delay in disarming Hezbollah perpetuates Lebanon's state of lawlessness.

Eighth, the committee affirms the state's exclusive right to use all means to safeguard or reclaim its legitimate rights, including direct negotiations and concluding agreements and treaties that ensure a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese territories it occupies, the return of displaced persons to their homes, the release of prisoners, and the establishment of final arrangements guaranteeing a safe and stable life along its borders.

Ninth, considering Lebanon as the exclusive reference in any negotiations, understandings, or agreements, the committee regards direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in Washington as the sole approach to ending the existing conflict. It demands a firm rejection of Iran's attempts to involve Lebanon in any negotiations between Iran and the United States or to have Hezbollah negotiate on Lebanon's behalf to guarantee the continuation of Hezbollah's weapons and solidify covert Iranian guardianship over Lebanon.

Tenth, the committee supports and trusts the Lebanese negotiating team, values its efforts, and endorses the emerging frameworks, declarations of intent, and political and security arrangements from these negotiations as the exclusive means to end the tragedy of all Lebanese people, restore normal life, and regain Lebanon's full sovereignty.

Eleventh, the committee appreciates the role of President Trump and his wise administration in sponsoring direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel to resolve all outstanding issues. It considers US sponsorship a fundamental guarantee for Lebanon to end Israeli occupation manifestations on its lands, restore its internal sovereignty, and provide significant support for Lebanon's cultural and economic recovery and renaissance.

Twelfth, the committee calls on the US administration to firmly block any Iranian attempts to use Lebanon as a tool for extortion or pressure in favor of its nuclear dossier and to secure political cover for Hezbollah's uncontrolled weapons within Lebanon. Lebanon's future is decided solely by the Lebanese through the legitimate state that represents them, negotiates on their behalf, and always decides in their interest.

The Lebanese-American Coordination Committee (LACC) pledges to the Lebanese people to continue its struggle toward establishing a sovereign, free, just, and independent state based on citizenship and to serve the Lebanese cause."