A month later, the government approved a plan, the first phase of which provides for a 3-month deadline to impose state control over weapons, south of the Litani River. Salam explained in an article published in the Financial Times that sovereignty is the first pillar, stressing that "no entity other than the Lebanese state is permitted to own weapons within its territory," and that the state alone is authorized to make decisions on war and peace. He stated that on August 5, the government tasked the Lebanese army with preparing a comprehensive plan to ensure the state's monopoly on weapons throughout all Lebanese territory. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati confirmed that his government is determined to launch a "national reset" process, based on two interlinked pillars: sovereignty and reform.
