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United States President Donald Trump praised Syria’s leadership for its efforts to restore stability, suggesting that President Ahmad al-Sharaa could play a role against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“Syria is doing a very good job of cleaning up their act,” Trump told NBC News in an interview aired on June 7.
In addition, he highlighted Sharaa as a “very good leader” who would be willing to assist the U.S. in regional security efforts.
Trump went on even to suggest that Syria could play a role in facilitating more “surgical” strikes against Hezbollah, saying he wanted a “better life” for people in Lebanon.
Israel carried out strikes on the same day against the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah, saying it was retaliating for attacks targeting its territory. Iran has since responded by resuming attacks on Israel, citing a violation of its ceasefire with the U.S. — which Tehran insists includes a complete cessation of hostilities in Lebanon.
Syria has not outright supported the American-Israeli war on Iran, but it has repeatedly condemned retaliatory strikes by the Islamic Republic targeting neighboring Gulf countries.
Right after the start of the war, multiple reports speculated that Sharaa could attack Iran allies upon a request from the U.S., namely Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Syrian president even openly called for the disarmament of the group more than once amid the war.
Hezbollah was a close ally to Syria’s former president, Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown more than a year ago by a coalition of rebels led by Sharaa.
Despite official denial by Syria, this caused some serious tensions with the Islamic Republic, which openly threatened to strike targets in Damascus.
Trump’s latest remarks indicate that the U.S. is still considering pushing Syria into a battle with Hezbollah, in order to increase pressure on the group.
Despite the major disagreement with Hezbollah, Sharaa is likely not in favor of intervening against the group. Syria could pay a heavy price. The country’s war-torn infrastructure would be completely exposed to retaliatory strikes from Lebanon, Iraq and Iran. That’s being said, the Syrian president may not be in a position to say no to Trump.
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