TENAFLY, N.J. — Rep. Josh Gottheimer went to Lebanon with a blunt message: Hezbollah needs to give up its guns.
The Bergen County congressman returned from a bipartisan congressional trip to Lebanon this week, where he and Illinois Republican Rep. Darin LaHood pressed Lebanese leaders to fully disarm Hezbollah and cut off Iran's influence over the country.
Gottheimer and LaHood met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and dozens of members of Parliament.
The trip comes as Lebanon tries to carry out a U.S.-brokered agreement with Israel that ties an Israeli military withdrawal to the verified disarmament of Hezbollah.
The problem: Hezbollah does not want to disarm.
The group has rejected demands that it surrender its weapons, while Lebanon and Israel have yet to agree on a final timetable and system for verifying that Hezbollah's weapons and infrastructure are actually gone, according to Gottheimer's office. Lebanese forces have begun moving into some areas where Hezbollah has operated.
The June framework calls for Lebanon to restore state control over its territory and disarm Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups. Israel's withdrawal is to take place in stages as the disarmament is verified. The agreement also created a U.S.-facilitated military coordination group to oversee the process.
Gottheimer wants Beirut to move much further.
He is calling for Hezbollah's weapons, tunnels and command structure to be dismantled nationwide. He also wants Hezbollah's smuggling routes and financing networks shut down and Iranian money and weapons kept out of Lebanon.
“Lebanon is at a turning point,” Gottheimer said. “For far too long, Iran has used Hezbollah, its terror proxy, to hold the Lebanese people hostage.”
The Bergen congressman said Lebanon agreed in June to disarm Hezbollah and now needs to follow through.
“Every day Hezbollah keeps its weapons is another day Iran gets a vote in the future of Lebanon,” Gottheimer said.
Hezbollah's refusal to disarm is one of the biggest obstacles to the framework. At the same time, Lebanese President Aoun told Gottheimer and LaHood that Washington must pressure Israel to meet its own commitments under the agreement, including a phased withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Gottheimer is making clear that he sees the two issues as connected.
His message is that Lebanon cannot become fully sovereign while an Iranian-backed armed group maintains its own weapons, tunnels, fighters and financial networks.
The congressman has been pushing the issue for months.
In June, Gottheimer and Rep. Mike Lawler introduced a bipartisan resolution calling on Lebanon and its armed forces to ensure Hezbollah stops its attacks and disarms.
In December, Gottheimer and Rep. Jefferson Shreve led a bipartisan letter urging Lebanese leaders to disarm Hezbollah immediately, including by force if necessary.
During the latest trip, Gottheimer also visited Maghen Abraham Synagogue and the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon.
For Gottheimer, the question now is whether Lebanon's government can actually take control of the country from Hezbollah.
“It's time to return Lebanon to the Lebanese people,” Gottheimer said.
And that means, in his words, fully and verifiably disarming Hezbollah.
