Iran has reportedly delivered direct and forceful warnings to Damascus and several other regional capitals in an effort to prevent Syrian military intervention in Lebanon against Hezbollah.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency cited a report Thursday by the Lebanese media outlet U News, which said Tehran informed Turkey, Iraq, Qatar and Saudi Arabia that any Syrian move against Hezbollah, under American pressure, would lead to a broad regional confrontation fought on Syrian territory.

The warning to Damascus was delivered through Turkey and included a threat that “the Iranian missile response will target more than 100 strategic sites in Syria, including the presidential palace.”

The report comes after the IDF warned in January that Iran, together with additional hostile elements, was working to assassinate Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa. The warning was issued amid the opening of contacts between Israel and Syria and was based on security information indicating that al-Sharaa faced genuine threats and was being forced to devote significant efforts to protecting himself and stabilizing his government.

Against the backdrop of negotiations between Israel and Syria, Israeli defense officials have maintained that the lessons of October 7 require continued IDF presence inside Syrian territory. In recent months, several discussions led by the defense minister and senior security officials concluded with the position that Israel should not withdraw from Syrian territory or the Keter Hermon area, which is viewed as a first line of protection for Israeli communities along the border.

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