Lebanese officials are closely monitoring the latest Syrian developments and the aftermath of possible US military action against Damascus in response to a gas attack on Douma last week.
Observers in Beirut fear that an attack on Syria could affect Lebanon, as Iranian forces and “Hezbollah” fighters constitute a principle part of the expected US “targets.”
All eyes would immediately turn to the Lebanese southern border with Israel in wake of military action in Syria.
Washington hinted that a US-led strike against Syria would likely be wider and stronger in scope, offering “Hezbollah” a largest margin to mobilize against Israel from southern Lebanon.
According to some reports, “Hezbollah” has already reinforced its positions south of the Litani River, an area protected by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) under UN Security Council resolution 1701.
“The fallout of developments in Syria would now threaten Lebanon more than before, because the US is now confronting Iran. Lebanon’s fragile stability would be at risk because ‘Hezbollah’ is part of this Iranian military system,” Sami Nader, head of the Beirut-based Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday.
Nader said that the chemical attack on Douma opened the door for all international players, particularly Israel, to widely intervene in Syria.
“Tel Aviv is now more involved in the Syrian developments and would benefit from the international mobilization against (regime chief Bashar) Assad,” he said, adding that Israel is keen on stopping the Iranian expansion in the region and on preventing the presence in Syria and Lebanon of Iranian missiles that threaten Israel’s national security.
“Tel Aviv is more concerned with Iran’s withdrawal from Syria and limiting its influence in Lebanon rather than removing Assad from power,” he added.
For his part, MP and former minister Mohammed Abdel-Hamid Baydoun told Asharq Al-Awsat that the situation in Lebanon would depend on the scope of the potential US-French military action on Syria.
“If Washington and Paris decide to hit Iranian forces in Syria, then ‘Hezbollah’ would be used as an Iranian tool to start a war with Israel,” he warned.
