The talks, brokered by Turkish security and intelligence agencies, were the first known face-to-face meetings between the two sides since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Damascus assured Hezbollah that it would not intervene militarily in Lebanon to disarm the organization, but it demanded that the group stop cross-border arms smuggling and dismantle remaining cells in Syria. Hezbollah pledged not to interfere in Syrian affairs but provided no direct answer to the requests regarding arms and operatives.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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Syrian President Blocks Iran Ties as First Hezbollah Talks Fail
Geopolitics20 days ago
Tehran was excluded from secret discussions between Syrian officials and Hezbollah held in Turkey last month to address mutual security concerns. President Ahmed al-Sharaa's refusal to establish direct relations with Iran for now was the primary reason no final agreement was reached, according to six sources briefed on the talks and cited by Reuters. While Hezbollah participated in the meetings with Tehran's knowledge, Iranian officials were reportedly disappointed by their lack of direct representation.
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