SYRIAN government officials and Iran-aligned Hezbollah representatives held secret face-to-face talks in Turkey last month in an effort to ease tensions between the longtime foes, according to six sources briefed on the meeting.
The talks, reportedly the first known direct meeting between Syria’s new government and Hezbollah, were facilitated by Turkish security and intelligence agencies and focused on mutual security concerns, the sources told Reuters.
Reuters reported on Friday that the sources included two Syrian officials, a US official and a senior Lebanese security source close to Hezbollah.
However, Turkey’s presidency and the Syrian government later denied that the meeting took place, with Ankara describing the Reuters report as “entirely unfounded” and Damascus saying the claims were false.
Hezbollah declined to comment.
Hezbollah had for years deployed fighters to Syria to support former president Bashar al-Assad during the country’s civil war.
Tensions increased after Assad was ousted in late 2024 following a rebel offensive that brought the current government to power, with Damascus accusing Hezbollah of transferring arms through Syria.
The sources said the September meeting was held at Turkey’s invitation as Ankara sought to de-escalate tensions between the two sides.
The US official, the Syrian officials and the Lebanese security source said the discussions went well and focused on resolving points of friction.
One Syrian official said both sides agreed they had no hostility towards each other, while Syria assured Hezbollah that it would not intervene militarily in Lebanon to disarm the group.
In return, Syrian officials asked Hezbollah to help halt cross-border arms smuggling and dismantle remaining sleeper cells, particularly in southern Syria.
The Syrian official said Hezbollah representatives did not directly respond to those requests but pledged not to interfere in Syria’s affairs.
The Lebanese source said the two sides had made “a lot of progress on security issues”, adding that Hezbollah wanted to protect its flank from any potential Syrian military action inside Lebanon.
However, no final agreement was reached and no announcement was planned, the sources said.
The Lebanese source said contacts between the two sides through Turkey had begun about two months earlier.
Reuters could not independently confirm where in Turkey the September meeting took place, how long it lasted or whether further meetings had been held.
Turkey's Communications Directorate said in a statement on X that claims about the meeting’s date, venue, content and participants were “entirely unfounded”.
“The claims in these posts regarding the date, venue, content and contacts do not reflect any reality and are entirely fabricated and speculative,” it said.
The Syrian government’s English-language account on X also said: “These claims are false.”
The talks came after both Syria and Hezbollah signalled in recent months that they were open to dialogue.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said in July that Damascus was open to meeting Hezbollah, while Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said a month later that the group had no objection to meeting Syria’s leadership.
Three sources said Turkey, a key ally of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, had pushed for the meeting as Ankara sought a direct role in efforts to stabilise Syria and the wider region.
Turkey has sought to position itself as a regional facilitator while supporting the rebuilding of Syria following the fall of Assad.
Iran, Hezbollah’s main sponsor, was not directly involved in the reported meeting.
The Lebanese security source said Hezbollah attended with Iran’s knowledge, but Tehran was disappointed that it was not a direct participant.
The source said Sharaa had so far rebuffed the possibility of establishing direct ties with Iran.
That disagreement was cited by the source as the main reason no final agreement was reached and no announcement was made.
There was no immediate comment from Iran’s permanent mission in Geneva. - October 2, 2026
