Lebanon Hosts ARZ 2025, a Major Field Exercise on Countering CBRN Terrorism

The Government of Lebanon, with the support of the EU CBRN CoE, UNICRI, and UNDP, successfully held ARZ 2025, one of the region’s largest field exercises aimed at strengthening national and regional preparedness and response to CBRN threats.

ISTC was among the key supporters of the event. Mr. Emmanuel Viatour, Project Manager, and Mr. Rauan Nadirbek, Procurement Officer, represented the ISTC and supported coordination efforts throughout the exercise.

Held from 10–13 November 2025 at the Port of Beirut and the Grand Serail, the exercise brought together Lebanese security institutions, emergency responders, hospitals, international organizations, EU project implementers and expert observers from partner countries.

ARZ 2025 builds on the achievements of ARZ 2021 and ARZ 2023 and is fully aligned with Lebanon’s CBRN National Action Plan (2023–2028).

This year’s scenarios tested Lebanon’s ability to prevent, detect, and respond to complex CBRN incidents at maritime points of entry. Multi-hazard events – including chemical releases, radiological emergencies, mass-casualty incidents, and terrorist attacks - required rapid, cross-agency coordination.

The exercise aimed to identify operational gaps, validate standard operating procedures (SOPs), strengthen inter-agency coordination, and inform the further development of national CBRN capabilities.

ARZ 2025 convened all key Lebanese agencies involved in safety, security, and emergency response, including the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), Internal Security Forces (ISF), General Security (GS), Lebanese Customs, Civil Defence (CD), the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission (LAEC), and others.

An international evaluation team coordinated by the Italian Ministry of Defence supported the assessment of the exercise. Participating organizations included the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), UNICRI, INTERPOL, and experts from EU CBRN CoE projects.

ARZ 2025 reinforces Lebanon’s strong partnership with the EU CBRN CoE network and highlights the country’s strategic commitment to building resilience against CBRN threats. Through realistic scenarios and multinational engagement, the exercise demonstrated the critical importance of preparedness, inter-agency cooperation, and international collaboration.

ISTC is proud to have contributed to this milestone event and remains committed to supporting international cooperation and capacity-building efforts aimed at enhancing global CBRN security and resilience.