Meeting on June 20, 2026 at Dar el Fatwa chaired by the Grand Mufti of the Republic, Abdel Latif Deriane. (Credit: NNA)
Lebanon's Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdellatif Deriane, expressed concern Saturday over ‘’voices calling for Syria to be drawn into a conflict against Hezbollah in Lebanon,’’ urging Lebanese authorities to ‘’engage in good faith with Damascus to resolve outstanding issues inherited from the former regime’’ of Bashar al-Assad.
The head of Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon's highest Sunni Muslim authority, was referring to repeated remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump about the possibility of Syrian intervention in Lebanon to ‘’solve the Hezbollah problem.’’ Trump has said he discussed with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa the need to ‘’fight’’ Hezbollah in order to disarm the group.
’’I suggested to Israel that it let Syria deal with Hezbollah because, frankly, I think it would do a better job,’’ Trump said Tuesday, less than 48 hours after Iran and the United States reached a declaration of intent aimed at ending the conflict in the region.
’’All Lebanese, particularly the people of the South and the Bekaa Valley, have paid a heavy price for the Iranian-Israeli conflict. Today, troubling voices are seeking to drag Syria into a confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, showing considerable foresight and wisdom, has refused to fall into this trap, stressing Syria's commitment to resolving all outstanding issues with Lebanon through understanding and wisdom, in a spirit of brotherhood,’’ Deriane said during a meeting of the Higher Sharia Council that he chaired.
The Sunni cleric also praised the efforts of President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam ‘’in conducting negotiations in Washington aimed at ending the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.’’ He likewise commended Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's commitment to ‘’national principles, particularly the liberation of the South and the dignified return of its residents to their towns and villages.’’
Deriane highlighted Lebanon's diplomatic efforts, ‘’in cooperation with its Arab brothers, particularly Saudi Arabia, and its friends, to stop Israeli aggression against all Lebanese territory and secure the enemy's withdrawal from the South.’’ He stressed that ‘’these negotiations are aimed exclusively at ending the war against Lebanon.’’
He also rejected any attempt to turn Lebanon into a new battleground for regional powers, in an apparent reference to Iran.
The council additionally warned against what it described as recurring ‘’attempts to sow discord between Lebanon and Syria,’’ arguing that they now fit within ‘’Israel's expansionist ambitions in southern Lebanon and the Syrian Golan Heights.’’
’’Trying to create discord between Lebanon and Syria, two neighboring countries, is just as dangerous as inciting divisions among the Lebanese themselves,’’ Deriane said, urging people not to fall into such a trap.
