Rubio Urges Lebanon Not to Return Seized Hezbollah Explosives
A US official said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged President Joseph Aoun on 15 October to reject returning explosives claimed by Hezbollah and pursue those behind the shipment.
Lebanese security forces intercepted the consignment at a checkpoint during the preceding week. What began as a seizure and investigation became a public confrontation when Hezbollah demanded both its material and the detained men back. The argument now concerns who controls the cargo, not simply who owns it.
Hezbollah claims the shipment
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told parliament on 15 October that the explosives belonged to the organization and were intended for use against Israeli troops in Lebanon, Reuters reported. He demanded their return and the release of the detainees. A Hezbollah official separately described a planned use in explosive drones.
Hezbollah is an Iran backed Shiite organization with a political party and an armed force; the United States designates it a terrorist organization. Its claim to the cargo does not establish the shipment's country of origin. Nor does its stated target amount to an independently verified account of the intended operation.
Two accounts of the weight
Associated Press placed the interception on the road between Beirut and the Bekaa Valley and reported two arrests. It gave a total of 780 kilograms, including 250 kilograms of TNT and 250 kilograms of C4, citing officials familiar with the investigation.
AFP, citing a judicial source in coverage carried by Asharq Al-Awsat, gave 500 kilograms, consisting of those same two component quantities. The accounts agree on the reported components but not the total. They cannot be reconciled by adding the figures together or treating the difference as another confirmed substance. A separate seizure near the Syrian border should not be folded into this consignment.
Aoun seeks pressure on Israel
Jordan's Petra news agency reported that Aoun asked Rubio to press Israel to stop attacks in southern Lebanon, protect access to farmland and halt bulldozing. Aoun also described continuing confiscations of unauthorized weapons and referral of cases to the judiciary.
The US account focused on accountability for the shipment's organizers, financiers and directors. It also advocated coordination between the Lebanese and Israeli militaries to reduce clashes. Neither account announced an agreement to hand the cargo back to Hezbollah.
Disarmament remains contested
Aoun, the former Lebanese army commander, was elected president on 9 January 2025. His government's effort to bring weapons under state authority has collided with Hezbollah's refusal to disarm while Israeli troops remain in Lebanon.
Reuters reported that Lebanon banned Hezbollah's military activities after its rocket attacks in support of Iran drew the country into the 2026 war. A US brokered arrangement envisaged disarmament alongside an Israeli withdrawal, but Israeli strikes have continued and the dispute over weapons remains unresolved. The seizure therefore tests enforcement of an existing state policy, rather than creating a new disarmament commitment.
Israel News Pulse could not independently find a public forensic inventory, a confirmed country of origin or a final judicial decision on this shipment. Fadlallah's demand is a Hezbollah position, not a Lebanese government order.
