US President Donald Trump suggested June 16 that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa could wipe out Hezbollah if Israel was unable to do so without causing heavy civilian casualties. The comment came in spite of repeated statements from Damascus ruling out any military intervention in neighboring Lebanon.
Speaking at the G7 summit in France, Trump praised Sharaa as doing “an amazing job” and said: “If Israel can’t do the job [against Hezbollah] without killing everyone else, then he will do the job. Syria will do the job.”
But Trump’s comments came days after President al-Sharaa dismissed reports that Syria could become involved in the war in Lebanon as “mere rumors.”
Sources in Damascus told Asharq Al-Awsat that no official US request had been made for Syrian military intervention, and stressed that “entering the quagmire of war and sending military forces unilaterally is completely ruled out.”
The sources said that while US envoy Tom Barrack had previously urged Damascus to take a clear position against Hezbollah, discussion of deploying Syrian troops to Lebanon was “very, very early” and would only be considered in coordination with the Lebanese state.
Syria’s Interior Ministry also emphasized that “Lebanon is a sovereign state and not a backyard, as the former regime viewed it.” (Radio Free Syria)
Photo: Ahmad al-Sharaa meeting Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Damascus, May 9. Credit: SANA via Radio Free Syria
