Reuters: US pressures Syria to join Israel in war against Hezbollah

The administration of Donald Trump is putting pressure on Syria to send troops into eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah. However, Damascus is reluctant to take part, fearing it could be drawn into a wider conflict and inflame sectarian tensions, Reuters reported.

In a report published on Tuesday, Reuters cited informed sources as saying the proposal had been presented to the Syrian government as part of efforts to disarm Hezbollah. The group joined the war against Iran on 2 March by targeting Israeli sites.

Sources, including two Syrian officials and two people familiar with the discussions, said the idea was first raised between US and Syrian officials last year. Reuters said all sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

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The sources added that US officials raised the proposal again as the US-Israeli war on Iran began. Two Syrian officials said Washington made the request shortly before the outbreak of the war, while a Western intelligence source said it was raised immediately after the conflict erupted. 

Reuters said it had “spoken to 10 ten sources for this article – six Syrian officials and government advisors, two Western diplomats, a European official and a ​Western intelligence source. All said Syria’s Sunni Islamist-led government had been cautiously considering a cross-border operation but remained hesitant.”  

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