US tells Aoun not to hand seized explosives back to Hezbollah

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told President Joseph Aoun by phone that Lebanon should not return the explosives seized from Hezbollah last week, and should hold accountable those who ordered, financed and directed the shipment, according to a US official quoted by AFP.

Security forces stopped the truck at the Dahr al-Baidar checkpoint on the road linking the Bekaa to Beirut and detained two men. Judicial officials told the Associated Press the cargo weighed about 780 kilograms, including TNT and C4 plastic explosives; Hezbollah and early reports put it at around 500 kilograms. The two detainees said they were told only to drive the load from the Baalbek area to Beirut.

In a rare admission, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said the vehicle and its cargo belong to "the resistance", denied any assassination plan, and called for the release of the two men. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described the shipment as a "criminal operation" and promised a full investigation.

Why it matters

The case is the sharpest test yet of the state's plan to bring all weapons under its authority, agreed in principle in June's US-brokered framework with Israel. Rubio also urged direct military-to-military communication with Israel and criticised Lebanon's 1955 boycott law.

Lebanese Lobby condemns any attempt to move weapons and explosives outside the authority of the Lebanese state, by any party, and supports the judiciary in following this case to the end.