Don’t Invite Syria Back Into Lebanon

Excerpt

While discussing the future of Hezbollah recently, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that Syria could play a role in facilitating “more surgical” strikes against the group in Lebanon. Trump did not spell out what such a Syrian mission might entail. His hope, it appears, is to secure Damascus’s support in defeating one of Iran’s most important proxies.

Back in March, the United States had discussed the possibility of a Syrian incursion into eastern Lebanon. At the time, Damascus reportedly resisted the proposal. President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government was wary of being drawn into a new regional confrontation and concerned that any direct involvement against Hezbollah might spark political and sectarian tensions in Syria.

Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing on Middle East affairs and the Levant.