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鈥淭he state of Lebanon needs to have an exclusivity of arms. And definitely, Hezbollah needs to be disarmed鈥� Disarming a group or a community is not possible by force, it's possible by conviction. You put pressure, but you cannot eliminate a whole society, a whole community. We need to have an exclusivity of arms in the hand of the state, an exclusivity of decision through a political process, pressuring Hezbollah to disarm, but getting also in parallel a full withdrawal of the Israelis from occupied Lebanese territories and a full cessation of hostilities.鈥�

Jeremy Bowen speaks to Gebran Bassil, the Lebanese politician who served as the country鈥檚 Foreign Minister between 2014 and 2020.

Mr. Bassil, who is from the country鈥檚 Maronite Christian ethnic group, leads the right-wing Free Patriotic Movement political party. The party was founded over 30 years ago by the former President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, who is also Bassil鈥檚 father-in-law.

In October 2024, a year after the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October started the current Middle East conflict, the Free Patriotic Movement party announced that it was cutting ties with Hezbollah. Bassil slammed the Iranian-backed militant group for threatening the safety and stability of Lebanon when it launched its own attacks on Israel in support of Hamas.

As the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continues in southern Lebanon, Bassil and his party are part of growing calls for the country to take a new direction.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the 麻豆社, including episodes with the World Health Organisation鈥檚 Hanan Balkhy; Ali Bahreini, Iranian ambassador to the UN; and Syrian Minister, Hind Kabawat. You can listen on the 麻豆社 World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on 麻豆社 Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Jeremy Bowen
Producers: Samantha Granville and Ben Cooper
Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterview麻豆社 on social media.

(Image: Gebran Bassil. Credit: Getty)