Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militant and political movement, says it will disregard a decision by Lebanon's government to task the army with establishing a state monopoly on arms. "We will treat this decision as if it does not exist," Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday, describing it as a "grave sin".

Hezbollah said on Wednesday the Lebanese government was committing a "grave sin" by tasking the army with establishing a state monopoly on arms, sharpening a national divide over calls for the Shi'ite Muslim group to disarm.

Amid heavy US pressure and fears Israel could expand its strikes on Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Tuesday that the government had tasked the army with developing a plan to restrict weapons to government forces by the end of the year.