Qassem says no objection to meeting with Syrian authorities

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Tuesday that he had no objection to meeting openly with Syria's leadership, the first time he has expressed such a stance after his Iran-backed group fought for Syria's former authorities.

"There is no impediment to a public meeting between Hezbollah and the Syrian leadership at a time considered appropriate by both sides," Qassem said in a televised address.

He emphasized "the importance and necessity of positive, fraternal, cooperative relations" between Lebanon and Syria.

The new Syrian authorities who overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad are hostile to Hezbollah, which for years fought in support of Assad during the country's civil war, which erupted in 2011.

Neighboring Syria also served as a key supply route to Hezbollah in Lebanon from Iran before the new authorities seized power in Damascus in December 2024.

Those new authorities have repeatedly announced arrests of alleged cells affiliated with the group as well as the seizure of weapons headed for the militants.

Hezbollah denies having any presence in Syria.

In June, responding to a question about whether he would sit at the table with Hezbollah, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said that "if this serves Lebanon's interests and safeguards Syria's interests, why not?"

Damascus has said it does not want to interfere in Lebanon militarily, with the neighbors seeking to repair a relationship strained during decades of Assad family dynasty rule including Syria's years-long occupation of Lebanon.

"We are looking for economic channels between Lebanon and Syria, not military ones," Sharaa said.

The comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly suggested Damascus could become involved in fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Hezbollah drew the country into the Middle East war on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel in support of Iran, triggering massive Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion.

Also on Tuesday, Lebanon's army said it had seized rockets "that were smuggled from Syrian territory into Lebanese territory" and arrested two individuals allegedly involved.