The US proposed that Syria intervene in Lebanon to fight Iran-backed Hezbollah, but Damascus rejected the proposal and said it was not interested in any military or security role in its neighbour, a Syrian presidential adviser has said.
Ahmad Zidan, adviser to Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara, said Syria supports the Lebanese state's efforts to extend its authority across the country but believes support for Beirut should come through strengthening state institutions rather than military intervention. He added that such approaches have repeatedly failed in the region.
“The United States proposed that the Syrian state become involved in Lebanon,” Mr Zidan told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television. “We in the Syrian state are not concerned with any military intervention [in Lebanon]. Some international actors may have a military approach, but military approaches have proven unsuccessful in the region.”
Mr Zidan added that Lebanon's government should assert its authority and extend its control over all Lebanese territory, away from militias”.
Earlier this month, the US President Donald Trump floated the idea that Syria could help address the threat posed by Hezbollah in Lebanon. Mr Trump said he wanted to see a “better life” for Lebanon, adding that the US could assist in that effort or recommend Syria as a potential partner.
“I’d like to see a more surgical attack on Hezbollah. I think it should be more surgical. And we can help them with that, or we can recommend Syria,” said Mr Trump.
The idea of any military role for Syria in Lebanon is highly sensitive and evokes memories of Syria's occupation of the country between 1976 and 2005. On Saturday, Mr Al Shara denied reports that Syria plans to intervene there militarily. He said that “what is being circulated about Syria entering Lebanon is completely untrue”, according to the state-run news agency Sana.
Reports emerged last week that Mr Al Shara had received an invitation to visit Washington in mid-June. The reports claimed that a potential Syrian role in Lebanon would be discussed during talks in the US capital.
A White House official denied that a meeting with Mr Al Shara was on the schedule. “However, President Trump and President Al Shara have a strong relationship and are easily in contact whenever it is needed,” said the official.
Senior Lebanese security and military officials told The National that there are currently no indications that the prospect of a Syrian role in Lebanon is causing concern within security circles.
Hezbollah fought alongside the Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad throughout much of Syria's civil war, including against insurgent groups led by Mr Al Shara. He headed Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, the group behind the December 2024 uprising that toppled the Assad regime and paved the way for his rise to the presidency.
A Lebanese parliamentary source close to Hezbollah told The National last week that Lebanese officials who had met Mr Al Shara since he came to power had received assurances that Syria had turned the page on past disputes and was not seeking conflict with any Lebanese faction or community.
