Roya Pour Bagher
Imperialist demands for the disarmament of the Resistance Axis members are mounting. The initial thought any person will have is desperation. The enemy that was incapable of accomplishing its military and political goals through genocide and war crimes is now resorting to “diplomacy,” “talks,” and “disarmament.” Unsurprisingly, the imperialists’ demands are for only their opponent, the Resistance Axis, to give up arms – the Israeli and US regimes themselves still wish to maintain the same genocidal arms they have used to martyr over 50,000 people since October 7, 2023.
In other words, a deal in which only one side complies. Who is making the demand? The very regimes that have used weapons to destroy countries and to shed innocent blood. To whom is the demand being made? The countries that have always used their weapons to defend themselves and their land. The irony is beyond us all.
It also seems like the West insists on not knowing its opponents. The resistance in Palestine and Lebanon, and the Islamic Republic of Iran are all Muslims. To be Muslim is to follow the teachings of the Quran. Not only does the holy scripture in Islam in no instance dictate the giving up of arms (different from laying down arms), but also demands the complete opposite:
“And when you (O’ Prophet) are among them, leading them in prayers, let a group of them stand with you while armed; And when they prostrate, let them withdraw to the rear, then let the other group that has not prayed yet, join you in prayer—taking their precautions and holding their weapons. The disbelievers wish you would neglect your weapons and belongings so they could assault you all at once. But there is no blame on you if you are troubled by rain or are ill to lay aside your weapons—but take your precautions. Allah has prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment.” (4:102)
The Holy Quran demands that believers not let go of their weapons during battle even for prayers! “The Quran is eternal,” late Iranian President Raeisi made it clear at the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations. Its true followers are also eternal. One cannot strip a nation that has held onto its faith, its weapons, for it is more difficult to hold onto faith than to hold on to arms. And so, the world watches the valiant display of holding onto weaponry by the various resistance factions.
The Israeli regime proposed that Hamas give up its weapons and release captives in exchange for a six-week ceasefire in Gaza. The world has already witnessed the Zionist regime’s incessant ceasefire violations both in Gaza and Lebanon. More importantly, the proposal not only excluded Israeli disarmament but also lacked any commitment to end the war or full Israeli pullout from the enclave. As it should, Hamas rejected the proposal, and the world witnessed Palestinians in Gaza also raise their voices in anger at the idea of disarmament. In the Gaza Strip, a brave woman shouted, “This (weapon) is out of reach! By God, we will be the weapons! We are Hamas. And let Israel do whatever it wants, and even the Americans. By God, a stronger force than Hamas will rise.”
Similar demands reached the Lebanese resistance Hezbollah as well. After months of brutal Israeli carpet bombing campaigns against the country and the murder of thousands of civilians, Hezbollah accomplished a ceasefire deal with the Zionist regime. In essence, Hezbollah forced the enemy to retreat—only for the regime to violate the ceasefire over 2,700 times. Meanwhile, Hezbollah adhered to the deal and made room for the international body to carry out its responsibility—for once. Unsurprisingly, it failed and still fails to do so. Hezbollah, too, responded to the disarmament demands categorically as non-negotiable. The Secretary General Shaikh Naim Qassem left no room for doubt when he said, “The idea of disarmament—remove it from your dictionary.” He proceeded to reiterate that the weapons were what liberated Lebanon and protected its sovereignty. Neither Hezbollah nor the followers of Hezbollah are willing to give up their arms. This, the people of Lebanon have proven when they pledged their allegiance to the resistance during the funeral of late Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
The iron-clad grip on arms is also clearly manifested in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where the leading Imam of Friday prayers delivers the sermon with a rifle in his hand. It is a message to the world, “Ready for combat.” A practice of the Prophet (pbuh) delivering the Friday sermon with a bow or stick in hand that they have followed. The Muslims in Iran interpret the bow or stick as a tool for combat, and the gesture itself as readiness for combat. It is a symbol of always being prepared for confronting aggression.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, also said in response to surrendering that the cost of surrender is far greater than the cost of resistance. Indeed, to strip a nation of its arms is to strip its dignity and sovereignty, and inevitably leads to humiliation.
“So do not falter and call for peace when you are superior; and Allah is with you and will never deprive you of (the reward of) your deeds.” (Holy Quran, 47:35)
While the West fails—rather, insists on not knowing its opponents, the true Muslim Ummah has proven otherwise. The only ones abiding by the laws of God in resisting oppression in Lebanon, Iran, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq are the same ones who will continue to do so. All these countries have gone through much more pressure in the past, and they never gave up on their stance nor their faith—only the wise know that the two are inseparable. These same movements understand the meaning behind “disarm” as they understand the meaning behind ”resistance.” They know the enemy—the same enemy that promised stability in Afghanistan but betrayed it, the same country that promised Ukraine an alliance but betrayed it, the same country that promised Libya democracy but left it in ruins, and countless other Western-manufactured tragedies.
America’s “promises” are a graveyard of nations. The West does not seek alliance; it has always sought superiority—means to imperialism.
Demanding disarmament after decades of occupations, sanctions, and over a year of genocide is not only utterly absurd—it is a confession of desperation. The resistance knows what the West refuses to admit: its weapons are the guarantors of dignity, the instruments of divine will, and the means to imperialism’s end. Let the West persist in its delusions. The wise know the end of this story—the same end that befell every empire that mistook faith for frailty. Strip them of arms, and you strip them of their covenant with God.
Roya Pour Bagher is a news writer based in Tehran, Iran.
