Hezbollah Says Its Weapons Are Not Part of Israel-Lebanon Talks

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem stated on May 12 2026 that the group’s weapons arsenal is not part of negotiations with Israel and is an internal Lebanese matter. In a written statement, Naim Qassem said Hezbollah will not be involved in upcoming talks between Lebanese and Israeli representatives and views direct negotiations as a form of humiliation.

He vowed that Hezbollah fighters would turn the battlefield into hell for Israeli forces as they defend Lebanon and its people.

Naim Qassem stated that after Lebanon achieves five points it will organise its internal affairs with a national security strategy leveraging its strengths including the resistance. Those points include Lebanese sovereignty through a cessation of Israeli aggression, withdrawal of the Israeli army from occupied territories, the release of prisoners, the return of people to southern Lebanon and reconstruction.

“Nobody outside Lebanon has anything to do with the weapons, the resistance...

This is an internal Lebanese matter and not part of negotiations with the enemy,” Qassem said in the statement. A third round of talks between Lebanese and Israeli representatives is scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Washington. The discussions come despite a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon announced on April 17 and extended until May 17 2026.

Israeli attacks have continued despite the truce. A Syrian man was killed and his wife wounded in an Israeli air strike targeting a motorcycle in the Hamadieh area of Tyre, southern Lebanon on May 12 2026. An Israeli drone dropped a bomb on a pick-up truck in the town of Mansouri in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district, resulting in injuries on May 12 2026.

At least six people were killed and seven wounded by Israeli warplanes in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon on May 12 2026. An Israeli drone attack on a vehicle in the town square of Doueir, southern Lebanon killed three people on May 12 2026. The three people killed in Doueir were identified as Ali Yassin, Abbas Hayek, and Youssef Khreibani.

Israel bombed the town of Jebchit in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh region in four consecutive air raids on May 12 2026. 6 million people. Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed nearly 3,000 people and displaced more than one million since the war with Hezbollah escalated on March 2 2026.

Iran has experienced a near-total internet blackout for 74 days since the war started on February 28 2026. Iran’s government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani stated that internet access will return to normal in Iran after the war with the United States and Israel ends.

Fatemeh Mohajerani stated that Iran is keeping its fingers on the trigger but the focus remains on sustainable peace and interests-based diplomacy.

Fatemeh Mohajerani stated that Iran fought the world’s greatest military power for 40 days. The UAE’s Habshan gas-processing complex is operating at 60 percent capacity and will not reach full production until 2027 after being hit in Iranian attacks. ADNOC Gas aims to achieve 80 percent restoration of the Habshan site by the end of 2026.

1 billion in net income for Q1 2026, a 15 percent decrease from the same quarter last year. The Habshan complex was targeted several times during the war with production halted on at least three occasions. Iran has targeted the UAE more than any other country during the war, launching drone and missile attacks at US assets and civilian infrastructure.

The Revolutionary Guard’s navy stated that the Strait of Hormuz has expanded into a strategic zone from the coasts of Jask to Sirri Island. The operational area of the Strait of Hormuz has expanded from a range of 32-48 km to 320-480 km according to Mohammad Akbarzadeh.

Pakistan plans to increase oil imports from Russia during the Strait of Hormuz crisis according to Pakistan’s ambassador to Russia Faisal Niaz Tirmizi.

Russia’s energy export revenue jumped 4 percent from the previous month to 733 million euros a day in April. Israel deployed Iron Dome batteries and personnel to the UAE during the war on Iran according to US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed that Israel sent Iron Dome batteries and personnel to the UAE.

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man during a raid on Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on May 11 2026. At least 44 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank in 2026 so far according to the United Nations. Thirteen of the 44 Palestinians killed in the West Bank in 2026 were killed by settlers according to the United Nations.

More than 760 settler attacks have been documented in the West Bank in 2026 according to the United Nations. Some 2,000 Palestinians, nearly 900 of them children, have been displaced in 2026 by settler violence and access restrictions according to the United Nations. Israeli forces arrested seven people from the Nablus governorate in the occupied West Bank at dawn on May 12 2026.

Israel is establishing a military factory to produce a fleet of suicide drones in response to Hezbollah’s explosive drones according to Israel’s Army Radio. The Israel National Cyber Directorate stated that intimidation messages allegedly sent by Iran have been sent to Israeli citizens’ phones in the last few hours as of May 12 2026.