Hezbollah supporters attend a ceremony organized by the Shiite party on the sidelines of the funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, on July 8, 2026, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Washington was encouraging Syria to focus on its own internal challenges, particularly by securing its border with Lebanon, while accusing Hezbollah of seeking to "destabilize" Syria's new government.
Asked whether the United States was trying to involve Syria in the fight against Hezbollah, Rubio replied: "We have encouraged Syria to focus on its own internal challenges."
"But we understand the threat that Hezbollah poses to this new Syrian government," he added. "One of the best things Syria can do to secure its future is to secure its border with Lebanon, to prevent weapons from being smuggled across that border with the aim of destabilizing the country."
Syrian authorities have repeatedly announced the interception of weapons shipments allegedly destined for Hezbollah in Lebanon. In a statement released last week following the seizure of a major cache of weapons, Syrian state media described Hezbollah as a "terrorist militia" — an unprecedented characterization since the change of power in Damascus in December 2024.
In recent months, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he would support Syrian military intervention in Lebanon against Hezbollah. The remarks reflect Washington's efforts to capitalize on the rift between Syria's new authorities and Hezbollah, a former ally of the Assad regime, in an attempt to persuade Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to take military action against the group — a course he has so far firmly rejected.
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