ARZ 2025, 10–13 November | Port of Beirut, Lebanon
- Alexandre Custaud
- Nov 14, 2025
- 2 min read
Field Exercise to Counter #CBRN Terrorism 🇱🇧 🇪🇺 🇺🇳
Participation in ARZ 2025 was a privilege — a major national CBRN exercise conducted in Beirut under the auspices of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon.
Held at the Port of Beirut, ARZ 2025 brought together Lebanese ministries, security forces, first responders, and international partners for a demanding programme of scenarios designed to test real operational readiness.
Across four days, ARZ 2025 tested two real-world scenarios:
🔹 a #chemical incident escalating into a mass-casualty event;
🔹 and the loss of a Category 1 #radiological source triggering a hostage situation.
The professionalism displayed by Lebanese teams—supported by the EU, Fondazione SAFE, UNICRI, UNDP, ISTC and international evaluators—was evident throughout the preparatory sessions, field operations, and post-scenario evaluations.
The closing ceremony at the Grand Serail highlighted the continued commitment of Lebanon and its partners to strengthen national CBRN capabilities and to ensure the protection of critical infrastructure and populations.
#Synergies with the EU CBRN CoE P101 project:
The exercise also highlighted clear synergies with the work being advanced under #P101 on the protection and (cyber-)security of CBRN-critical infrastructures.Insights gained from ARZ 2025 will help reinforce and refine the operational dimension of the P101 CBRN risk-assessment tool.
#Cybersecurity and the future of ARZ Exercises
Looking ahead, future ARZ editions could naturally evolve to include a dedicated cyber component. Cyberattacks have the capacity to weaponise CBRN critical infrastructure by exploiting the IT/OT digital systems that underpin their operation.Integrating cyber scenarios would ensure that the exercise continues to reflect the realities of today’s risk landscape.
Sincere appreciation to all colleagues who contributed to making ARZ 2025 a success:
Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission / Lebanese CNRS
Lebanese Civil Defense
Lebanese Red Cross
Fondazione SAFE – Security and Freedom for Europe
European Commission – FPI & JRC & EU Delegation
UNICRI – United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute
UNDP
OPCW – Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
AESA – Agriconsulting Europe SA
ISTC – International Science and Technology Center
