Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrullah accused the Lebanese leadership on Tuesday of seeking the occupation of the country by the UN force policing a cease-fire between his group and Israel.
In an interview on Hizbullah's Al-Manar television, Nasrullah said the "party in power is seeking to make UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) ... occupy Lebanon and disarm the resistance," as Hizbullah is commonly known in Lebanon.
"This plan is dangerous and of the sort that could transform Lebanon into another Iraq and another Afghanistan," he said. "This plan was already hoped for by the (leadership) before the Israeli aggression. It is an American-Israeli demand."
Neighbouring Israel launched a devastating assault on Lebanon in July after Hizbullah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.
In mid-August, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1701, which led to a cease-fire and called for the country to be free of arms except those held by the Lebanese state.
It also mandated the expansion of UNIFIL, which had been present since 1978, to help the Lebanese army maintain the cease-fire and to support its efforts to impose its authority in the south, long a Hizbullah bastion.
On Monday, the Security Council again pressed for the disbanding of militias and strict respect of Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty as called for in a 2004 UN resolution In a unanimously adopted but non-binding statement, it noted "with regret that some provisions of resolution 1559 have yet to be implemented, namely the disbanding and disarming of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias."
The council praised the government for extending its authority throughout its territory, particularly in the south, and encouraged it to continue its efforts in that regard.
Hizbullah, backed by Syria and Iran, insists in the face of the UN resolutions that disarmament is a purely domestic issue.
The government, of which Hizbullah is a part, is dominated by anti-Syrian politicians. Cross-party talks on the future of militias in Lebanon were underway in Lebanon at the time of the Israeli invasion.
Nasrullah said the UN resolutions "were for the benefit of Israel and not for Lebanon."
The Hizbullah chief also accused the country's leadership of seeking to sow fear among the populace by harping on insecurity in the country.
"The party in power is weak and frightened," he said. "It has lost all credibility in the street.
Hizbullah is calling for the formation of a government of national unity to "face up to the challenges with which Lebanon is confronted." It wants the inclusion of other political groups, particularly that of its Christian ally, former general Michel Aoun.
In the interview Nasrullah said Hizbullah would call demonstrators into the streets if needs be.
"If dialogue does not result in a government of national unity, we will resort to demonstrations. It is our constitutional right, our democratic right to express out opinions in the street.
Parliamentary chief and Hizbullah ally Nabih Berri has called for a national dialogue among the leaders of the various communities in Lebanon to consider a national unity government and the adoption of a new electoral law to end the political stalemate.
The talks have been delayed until on Monday because of the absence of several anti-Syrian leaders.