USUP’s Ibrahim Mrad: Anyone insisting on mortgaging Lebanon to foreign interests will find themselves isolated

BEIRUT — As political pressures mount on the Lebanese government to enforce its decision to centralize weapons under state authority, Ibrahim Mrad, head of the Universal Syriac Union Party (USUP), delivered pointed remarks addressing both domestic and international audiences. He stressed that Lebanon’s future cannot be held hostage to external powers, and that stability can only be guaranteed through the authority of the state and its army. 

In an interview with the platform Waradana, Mrad addressed the recent dispute between Syriac Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Raï and Grand Jaafari Mufti Ahmad Kabalan. He described Mar Bechara’s statements as reflecting “the core of Lebanese suffering,” emphasizing the people’s demand for a functional state that respects its citizens and ensures security and prosperity. “Yesterday, the Mufti was not acting as a religious authority but as a provocateur, mocking a national framework that built Lebanon and granted it its glory,” Mrad said, calling Kabalan’s response “insulting and humiliating.”

The controversy erupted after Kabalan declared that Hezbollah’s weapons in Lebanon are “the weapons of God” and will never be disarmed. Mrad responded sharply, calling the claim a “mockery of the divine itself and religious values.” “God is not a tool for any faction, nor does He ask Lebanese citizens to become pawns of Iran at the expense of their country and youth,” he added.

Mrad criticized Hezbollah for bringing only war, displacement, and collapse to Lebanon, noting that Iran’s regional project, exporting conflicts from Iraq to Yemen, “has never produced a normal life or a prosperous state anywhere.”

Mrad emphasized that the Lebanese army, in coordination with the Cabinet and the Presidency, has been actively working for months to implement the disarmament decision. He warned that any portrayal of the army as divided or incapable is “pure illusion.” 

Mrad did not rule out international intervention under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to help Lebanon enforce state authority if the army faces significant obstacles. “Lebanon will not be left prey to an armed militia,” he said. “If the army cannot succeed alone, the international community is ready to support.”

Addressing segments of the Shia community that continue to support Hezbollah, Mrad urged reconsideration: “This militia has led you only to death and destruction. We welcomed people from the South as brothers, yet some responded with attacks and accusations. The circumstances have changed: the state is determined to enforce the law, and there will no longer be summer and winter under the same roof.”

He stressed that threats of repeating the “7 May” scenario are unrealistic today, given the army’s cohesion and a transformed state compared to 2008.

Mrad also responded decisively to accusations of serving foreign agendas. “Those who follow the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and pledge allegiance to the Supreme Leader are the agents,” he said. “Demanding a state, army, and law is not betrayal. We defend Lebanon’s sovereignty, while they import wars and serve an Iranian agenda at the expense of their homeland.”

He recalled that he had been among the first voices to confront Hezbollah’s Iranian-backed influence since 2004, during the peak of its power, emphasizing that his position has not changed: “I spoke out when they controlled the judiciary and institutions, and I will continue to speak today and tomorrow. The difference is that they are now weaker.”

On the question of peace with Israel, Mrad affirmed his commitment to a just and comprehensive peace in the region: “Enough wars and destruction. All peoples deserve to live in safety and prosperity. We stand for a culture of life, not death or self-destruction.” He argued that Iran’s wars and proxies have only caused devastation and casualties, whereas a peace path could open opportunities for economic and social progress benefiting Lebanese citizens and their neighbors.

Commenting on Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem’s statement likening a potential confrontation to the Battle of Karbala, Mrad sharply replied: “Karbala ended in slaughter and loss. If he wants to lead his followers to collective self-destruction, that is his choice, but we say: life is precious, and Lebanon deserves to live, not die.”

Summing up his remarks, Mrad expressed determination that Lebanon is entering a new phase where militia logic has no place. “After forty years of rule by arms, the era of imposing the Iranian project on Lebanon is over,” he said. “Today, there is a state determined to enforce the law, an international community ready to support it, and a population that wants to live in peace. Anyone insisting on mortgaging Lebanon to foreign interests will find themselves isolated. We, however, will continue defending our sovereignty and the future of our children.”