Syria foils Hezbollah missile-launching operation: state media

Beirut: Syrian state media said Sunday that security forces thwarted a missile-launching operation by Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah from its territory.
From March 2 until a 10-day ceasefire went into force on April 17, Hezbollah was battling Israel after drawing Lebanon into the Middle East war with rocket fire aimed at Israel in support of Tehran.
Syria’s official SANA news agency, quoting an interior ministry source, said security forces “thwarted a sabotage plot orchestrated by a cell linked to the Hezbollah terrorist militia.”
It alleged the group “intended to launch missiles across the border with the aim of destabilizing the country.”

Syrian authorities are hostile to Hezbollah, as the group played a key role in Syria’s civil war that ended in 2024, fighting alongside the forces of now-ousted leader Bashar Assad.

Last week, Damascus accused the group of being linked to a cell that attempted to plant an explosive device in front of a house belonging to an unidentified religious figure in the Bab Touma area of the Syrian capital. But the Iran-backed movement denied the ministry’s claims on Sunday, saying they were “false and fabricated.”
Hezbollah said it has “no activity, no ties, and no relationship with any party in Syria and has no presence on Syrian soil.”
The group called on Syrian authorities “to conduct a thorough investigation before making accusations without evidence.”

It blamed “the presence of intelligence services” on Syrian soil that it said were “seeking to inflame tensions between Lebanon and Syria.”

Under Assad, Syria was part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” against Israel and enabled the transfer of weapons and money from Iran to Hezbollah.

But since taking over, Syria’s Islamist authorities have rejected Iranian influence.