Overview
- The president said he discussed fighting Hezbollah with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and suggested Syria could 'take care of' the group in remarks made on Wednesday at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains.
- Syrian state media and al-Sharaa have publicly denied any plan to send Syrian forces into Lebanon and say Damascus is focused on securing the border and stopping weapons smuggling.
- Reporting shows mixed signals: anonymous Syrian sources say al-Sharaa privately fears regional backlash and would condition action on Israeli concessions, while other accounts suggest he would be reluctant to intervene.
- Israel, Lebanon and Turkey have voiced reservations about a Syrian deployment because it would violate Lebanese sovereignty, risk sectarian spillover and could inadvertently legitimize or strengthen Hezbollah.
- Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Shiite armed group based in Lebanon, and al-Sharaa became Syria’s leader in 2025 after civil war; the debate over Syrian involvement remains a diplomatic proposal with no operational plan.