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".
The comments come despite mounting international pressure for the group to disarm.
The Iranian-backed group was significantly degraded in last year's war with Israel but has, so far, refused to give up its arsenal, despite calls from the US and domestic rivals.
Hezbollah also said that the Lebanese cabinet's decision to try and confine arms supply and production to state forces was the result of American "diktats".
