Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem issued a warning to the Lebanese government against moving forward with its plan to disarm the Iran-backed militant group,

Naim Kassem, leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group, said the government should have instead “spread its authority and evicted Israel from Lebanon.”

Hezbollah and Iran have emerged bruised from separate conflicts with Israel in November and June, respectively. Now, Beirut’s instruction for Hezbollah to disarm risks further undermining the relevance of the group at a critical time, analysts said.