As Lebanese military prepares to disarm Hezbollah, France supports Saudi conference

BEIRUT — French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to back a “conference that our Saudi friends will hold” in support of the Lebanese Armed Forces, as the LAF prepares for the contentious mission to disarm Hezbollah.

“Lebanon will breathe easier when Hezbollah is weaker and the rest of Lebanon will breathe even better when all of the arms held by Hezbollah are back in the force, in the hands of the Lebanese Armed Forces, there’s no other choice,” Macron said in his address to the United Nations General Assembly last week.

Macron did not divulge additional details about the planned conference to be hosted by Saudi Arabia, and representatives for the Saudi embassy in Beirut did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.

But a French source said the meeting is expected take place before the end of 2025 and will gather several countries, including Gulf and Arab states, European states, commonwealth countries and the US.

“France has no taboos when it comes to arming [the] LAF, even if the needed capabilities are radars for air defense systems,” the source told Breaking Defense in an interview on Friday.

The source added that the conference will help equip the LAF to be able to perform its duties, as the mandate for the international peacekeeping force UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon, will expire in a year after nearly a half-century of presence in southern Lebanon. The conference could also provide aid to Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces, in hopes of lessening the operational burden on the LAF, the source said.

That the French expect the meeting to take place in Saudi Arabia, the source said, is a “gamechanger,” signaling progress since the Beirut and Riyadh have had strained relations in recent years. In 2016, Saudi Arabia canceled a military aid package to the LAF worth $3 billion after Lebanon refrained from condemning an attack on the Saudi diplomatic mission in Iran. The aid would have included military vehicles, helicopters and maritime vessels, which the LAF has never received.

It wouldn’t be the first international conference gathered for the LAF’s benefit with France’s support. In October 2024, France held a conference and raised $200 million to support LAF. The source told Breaking Defense that LAF received this assistance in the form of troop transportation equipment, heavy machines, and engineering, demining and training equipment.

Also earlier this month, the US Department of Defense announced it would provide the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) a security package worth $14.2 million to help in its new mission to disarm Hezbollah.

The package consists of explosives and support equipment to dismantle Hezbollah weapons caches and military infrastructure.

The task of disarming Hezbollah is likely to be a fraught one, as the group has said it won’t give up its arms willingly. Late last week Reuters published an interview with Jawad Nasrallah, the son of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in which Jawad reiterated Hezbollah’s position.

“Never in your fantasies or dreams,” he said.