US envoy says Hezbollah involvement in Iran-Israel war would be 'very bad decision'

The US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack on Thursday warned Lebanese group Hezbollah against getting involved in the war between its main backer Iran and Israel.

Barrack, who is also the US ambassador to Turkey, is on his first visit to Beirut, where he met top Lebanese officials including parliament speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah.

“I can say on behalf of President (Donald) Trump… that would be a very, very, very bad decision,” Barrack said after his meeting with Berri, responding to a question on what the US position would be on any involvement by Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in the war.

The group condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran when the conflict erupted on Friday, but did not announce its intention to intervene in support of Tehran.

Hezbollah suffered devastating losses in its war against Israel last year, which ended with a ceasefire agreement in November.

The war heavily weakened the group, which was once seen as the most powerful and influential component the so-called Iran-led “axis of resistance”.

Reacting to the Iran-Israel war, the Lebanese foreign ministry said last week that it was “continuing its contacts” to spare the country from being dragged into any conflict.

In a statement shared by the Lebanese presidency after his meeting with Barrack, President Joseph Aoun said that “communications are ongoing to achieve the goal of weapons monopoly at both the Lebanese and Palestinian levels, and will intensify after stability returns… to the region”.

According to the ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah must pull back its fighters north of the Litani river, roughly 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border with Israel, leaving the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers as the only armed parties in the area.

Israel is required to fully withdraw its troops from Lebanon, but it has kept them in five positions it deems “strategic”.

Lebanon has also recently amped up efforts to disarm Palestinian armed groups, which for decades had been in charge of Palestinian refugee camps in the country.

Barrack also said on Thursday that Washington was “committed to help… so what we have altogether is hope, and that chaos will subside soon, and that out of that will come the blossoming of peace and prosperity”.

Despite the ongoing ceasefire, Israel has repeatedly attacked Lebanon, saying it would continue to strike the country until Hezbollah was disarmed.

An Israeli strike on Kfar Juz, south Lebanon, killed two people on Wednesday, while another strike injured one person in Barish, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Israel said it killed two Hezbollah members in its attacks.