Illustrative image. (The Syrian Arab News Agency)
United States special envoy Tom Barrack hinted on July 11 that Lebanon could be taken over by Syria if Hezbollah refuses to disarm.
Barrack, who is the special envoy for Syria and U.S. ambassador to Turkey, told The National in an interview that Lebanon needs to resolve the issue or else it could face an existential threat.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” the senior diplomat said, using the historical name for the Syria region.
“Syrians say Lebanon is our beach resort. So we need to move. And I know how frustrated the Lebanese people are. It frustrates me,” he added.
Last month, Barrack presented Lebanon with a proposal to disarm Hezbollah in exchange for aid and a halt in Israeli operations in the country, which continued post a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. last November. In response, the Lebanese government demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from disputed territory, including the occupied Shebaa Farms. From its side, Hezbollah refused to disarm.
Barrack’s shocking hint came following reports in Hebrew media suggesting that Syria wants to annex parts of Lebanon in exchange for relinquishing a part of the occupied Golan Heights to Israel.
One of the proposed peace agreements reportedly allows Israel to keep two-thirds of the Golan Heights. The remaining third would be returned to Syria, but under a potential lease arrangement. In this version, Syria would also be granted control over Tripoli parts of the Bekaa Valley in northern Lebanon.
According to Israel’s i24NEWS, which was among the first to report on the alleged proposal, Syria wants to restore sovereignty over the Sunni-majority city of Tripoli.
Now, Barrack appears to suggest that Syria’s new Islamist rulers are eyeing the entirety of Lebanon, not just its northern part.
It’s worth noting that amid all of these reports tensions began to mount between Lebanon and Syria over the issue of Syrian Islamist prisoners in Lebanese jailed. According to Arab media, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa even threatened to take diplomatic and economic action against Lebanon over the issue.
Even if Syria was able to secure the support of most Sunnis in Lebanon, which is highly unlikely, all remaining groups, including Christians, Shia, Druze and Alawites, will likely fight back. Thus, Sharaa will have to embark on a full-blown war to annex just one part of Lebanon.
Considering that Syria is on its way to make peace with Israel, it is very understandable that both the U.S. and Israel would support such a war. If Syria manages to swallow Lebanon, Hezbollah will simply cease to exist and all of Israel’s northern border will be secured for the first time ever.
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the perfect scenario for israel: no surprise that hts are cheered up in the rotten west! iran again needs to get rid of a weakling ayatollah, not worthy the legacy of imam khomeini… it´s a obligation for iran to wipe out syria and jordan from the map… and better russia and china to hurry up, because israhell is an american weapon in the middle east!
china and russia must understand if iran falls to the west, they are the next in line! but apparently they didn´t get it yet! if iran falls, iraq will fall and all the mena will be in the control of us! wake up!
ain’t going to ever happen. the $usd is the mushroom cloud that has already detonated on america’$ and i$rael$ party. will never have a viable conventional force to obtain all that it wants and has yet to control in addition to the places it is already in… that leaves only one other option and i think between russia and the prc they’ve got that one licked with their “incoming” hypersonic warheads that will get to their destinations far faster than what nato$tan has.
russia was never syria’s ally. they always bent over for israhell and t*rkey at the expense of the saa and syrian peoples
and will russia and iran just sit idle while this happens?!!? if that moronic zionist puppet al jolani attacks lebanon it would be the perfect opportunity for russia and iran to take him out!
meglio unire israele, palestina, libano, siria in un solo stato.
so in other words israel can take over lebanon. isis julani is israel
israeli and american mercenaries, have taken over syrian! lebanese is another parcel too big for either nation to succeed in anything other than another debacle and tail between the legs of another marine
and another war lost!
ahmed sharaa a paid thugs think by helping israel aginst lebnon he will survive. this guy is ready to kill millions of muslim just to please zionist . lebnease people will fight to death to make sure ahmed sarra will be killed . cristian shia alwai lebnon and from syria north and druze will join hand to fight this syria terrorist but one think is sure sunni are causing more troube then this zionist . sunni leaders and thier followers have sold thier soul to zionist devil
this is just an attempt to frighten lebanon before eventually attacking it. it’s a stupid test to see the reaction of the weaks within the enemys.
remember: the zionist army consists of spies who makes other people fighting another.
never they will and never they can take a land by force. first strike is always their hardest, because their lies are working by then.
but soon, like in ukraine, their lies will melt away, so their power will.
last part isn’t true. if syria could annex lebanon hezbo wouldn’t cease to exist! maybe weakened more, politically expelled & forced underground into hiding but would have popular support & vast number of allied partners from all the sociopolitical & ethno-sectarian groups in name of national solidarity, unity & of course resistance proving hezbo rite all along, cementing its legacy & they’ll wear down, attrit & route syrian forces..
i swallow all the jizz in lgbt bar.