Hezbollah–Syria relations

Hezbollah–Syria relations have been a crucial aspect of Middle Eastern geopolitics, particularly since the onset of the Syrian civil war. Hezbollah played a substantial role in bolstering the Assad regime against Syrian opposition forces throughout the Syrian civil war since 2011. Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shia Islamist political party and militant group based in Lebanon, established itself as a significant force in Syria with both military and political power, waging a largely sectarian war against the Sunni-dominated Syrian rebel forces. In 2023, the attempts by the UAE and Saudi Arabia to rebuild ties with the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad was met with concerns by Hezbollah. The Syrian regime was willing to explore possibilities for new alliances. However, with the fall of the Assad regime in late 2024 as a result of a renewed rebel offensive, Hezbollah found itself increasingly isolated as the newly formed Syrian transitional government sought to curb Iranian weapon transfers to Hezbollah and drug smuggling along the Lebanon–Syria border, culminating in border clashes between both sides.