Iran Warns Syria Against Military Intervention in Lebanon

By Staff, Agencies

Iran has reportedly thwarted a planned Syrian military intervention in Lebanon that was being prepared at the request of the United States, delivering a warning to Damascus that any Syrian military entry into Lebanese territory would trigger a broader regional response, according to Iranian sources cited by U News.

The warning reportedly included threats to destabilize the Syrian-Iraqi border, open a confrontation line in Homs, support Alawite movements along Syria's coast, and encourage Kurdish forces to return militarily to the outskirts of Aleppo.

The message was also reportedly conveyed to Ankara, Baghdad, Doha, and Riyadh, warning that any Syrian operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon could expand beyond the Bekaa Valley and develop into a broader regional confrontation inside Syrian territory.

According to the sources, Iran's warning transformed a potential Syrian intervention from an option that could be presented to Washington as a limited military operation into a high-cost regional confrontation.

The warning, reportedly transmitted to Damascus through Turkish channels, included the threat of Iranian ballistic missile strikes beginning from Damascus and targeting more than 100 strategic sites in an initial wave, including the Syrian presidential palace.

The scenario reportedly promoted by figures linked to the US embassy in Lebanon involved deploying Syrian armed units from the Masnaa crossing toward Chtoura and Zahle in the Bekaa, while simultaneously mobilizing forces from the eastern highlands toward Baalbek.

The plan also reportedly envisioned declaring Tripoli a Syrian sphere of influence, with advancing forces drawing support from local communities, particularly in some Sunni-majority areas.

The reported objective was to strike Hezbollah's rocket infrastructure in the Bekaa and create military and political pressure that would force the group to withdraw or accept new security arrangements.

Iran's warning has reportedly prompted regional actors to reassess the risks of such an operation, particularly given Syria's recent military and political upheavals and its limited capacity to withstand another internal conflict.

Hezbollah is reportedly treating the possibility of a Syrian intervention seriously and has taken precautionary measures in the Bekaa against a potential incursion.

According to the report, Hezbollah views the scenario not as an isolated Syrian operation but as part of broader US-"Israeli"-regional pressure aimed at dismantling the resistance structure in Lebanon from the east, following the failure of "Israel" to achieve a decisive outcome in southern Lebanon.