Syria and Hezbollah held secret talks — Iran left out in the cold

Syria and Hezbollah held secret security talks in Turkey, excluding Iran. The Syrian side demanded an end to arms smuggling and the dismantling of underground structures. There is no official confirmation of the meeting, and Turkey and Syria deny the information.

The new Syrian leadership and Lebanese Hezbollah held secret talks in Turkey focused on security issues. The meeting, according to Reuters, took place in September with the assistance of Turkish intelligence. A key aspect was the absence of Iran — Hezbollah's main ally, which for many years used Syria under Bashar al-Assad as a conduit to the group. The Syrian side made tough demands: stop arms smuggling through Syrian territory, dismantle underground structures, and refrain from interfering in Syria's internal affairs. At the same time, Damascus indicated it does not plan a military operation in Lebanon to forcibly disarm Hezbollah. Sources report some progress, but a final agreement has not been reached. Iran, according to sources, knew about the planned contact but was unhappy about its exclusion. There is no official confirmation of the meeting: Turkey denied its intelligence involvement, and Syria called the information false. The article relies on anonymous Reuters sources and contains no official confirmations.