The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem, issued a statement in which he addressed the framework agreement between the Lebanese authority and the Israeli enemy entity, in which he considered that the direct negotiations are “free and purely concessions to Israel,” and that they are “meetings to impose compliance” with American-Israeli dictates. The statement questioned the integrity of the Lebanese authority and its responsibility towards the people and the protection of sovereignty, considering that it did not obtain a ceasefire through the American mediator, and that it later rejected a proposal that was conveyed through American-Iranian talks in April 2026, which led to the “Black Wednesday crime,” which he said resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries, and widespread air strikes that affected Lebanese areas, including Beirut. The statement accused the authority of going to negotiations “with hostility and disagreement with more than half of the Lebanese people,” and in violation of the constitution, which considers Israel an enemy and criminalizes dealing with it, considering that the state gave up “cards of strength” by abandoning the resistance, and that it “stabbed the resistance in the back” through government decisions, as he described it. The statement referred to what it described as the “Iranian-American Memorandum of Understanding,” considering that it stipulated an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on various fronts, including Lebanon, and a guarantee of the safety and sovereignty of Lebanese territory, with a 60-day deadline to reach a final agreement. He added that Israel's refusal to adhere to it led to continued escalation until a ceasefire was imposed. He said that the "framework agreement" in Washington includes arrangements that allow Israel to monitor the deployment of the Lebanese army in experimental areas, and link the transition between the stages with a certificate of good behavior from the Israeli side, warning that this may lead to stabilizing the occupation for long periods and perhaps imposing permanent facts on the ground. He considered that linking the Israeli withdrawal to the disarmament of the resistance from all of Lebanon “a dangerous proposal that crosses red lines,” stressing that any agreement must be limited to the south of the Litani River and not interfere in Lebanese internal affairs. The statement described the framework agreement as a "terrible failure, a major sin, and a neglect of sovereignty," considering it "non-existent," and called for a return to what it described as the terms of the previous understandings that guarantee complete Israeli withdrawal. He stressed that Hezbollah will continue "resistance in the field" until the occupation ends, stressing its adherence to the loyalty of "the martyrs, the wounded, and the prisoners," and considering that the ceasefire would not have occurred without "the sacrifices of the resistance and the Lebanese people." The statement concluded by emphasizing the continuation of the resistance option to defeat the occupation, the recovery of prisoners, the return of the people, and reconstruction, leading to what he called the “National Security Strategy,” citing a Qur’anic verse urging jihad for the sake of God.