Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he hopes Iran-backed Hezbollah can be disarmed this year, following an Israeli military campaign that left the group decapitated and significantly weakened. “We hope that Hezbollah’s weapons will be withdrawn or that their possession will be restricted to the state in 2025, and this is what I am striving for,” the United States-backed president said during an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed published on Tuesday. Hezbollah was formed in the aftermath of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the early 1980s, and has grown to become a formidable rival political and military force within the country. The militants have long resisted calls to disarm. “As for Hezbollah members, they are ultimately Lebanese, and if they want to join the army, they can undergo so-called absorption courses,” Aoun said, adding that the group would not be allowed to function as a distinct unit within the Lebanese army.…
