Shadi Helena – Today’s News
In a region that is accustomed to testing the borders of countries through fire, political words sometimes seem like encrypted messages, carrying within them something beyond their direct meaning, and this is what opens the door to a new reading of the Syrian position towards Hezbollah, especially with the shift of the discourse from describing the role that the party played during the years of the Syrian war, to talking explicitly about a danger that could extend from the Lebanese arena to the Syrian interior, since Damascus views any security chaos in Lebanon as a development that may not stop at its borders, and may quickly find its way to… Surrounding area.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa placed the party in a position of responsibility for an essential aspect of the tragedy that Syria has experienced over the past years, indicating, during his television appearance yesterday, that the party fought alongside the former regime for fourteen years, and participated in the war that the country witnessed, and the killing and widespread displacement that accompanied it, while Syrian fears still remain regarding its continued armed presence and spread along the Syrian-Lebanese border, in a scene that Damascus considers a factor that imposes itself on its security and political calculations.
On the other hand, Al-Sharaa considers that the danger is not limited to the borders, as he expressed great fear of the possibility of the situation inside Lebanon exploding, warning of repercussions that could affect Syria directly. Here, the Syrian signal gains special importance, as it comes at a very sensitive regional moment, in which Lebanese calculations overlap with Syrian security, and in which the borders turn into an open space for possibilities whose course is difficult to control.
According to the writer and political analyst Ahmed Al-Ayoubi, this type of speech represents an advanced step in the course of the Syrian position, as he believes, in an interview with Akhbar Al-Youm Agency, that what Al-Sharaa issued may be a gradual preparation for a stage in which Damascus can reach a level of direct intervention, albeit according to precise calculations and a studied path, which does not resemble the broad invasion scenarios that the region experienced in previous stages.
Al-Ayoubi estimates that the intervention, if it occurs, may be qualitative and specific, and likens it to a surgical operation carried out within a clear scope and set goals, without going for the option of comprehensive entry into the Bekaa or the northern regions, as any intervention is likely to move within a precise geographical and security framework, governed by field and political considerations at the same time.
Based on this reading, any potential Syrian move will not be separate from the international and regional scene, as Al-Ayoubi believes that such a move needs broad political cover, which links it to the positions previously launched by US President Donald Trump, which means that the issue, if it develops, will not be a single Syrian decision, but rather part of larger arrangements being prepared at the regional level as Lebanon faces a new test, and its borders with Syria become one of the most sensitive points in the next stage.
