A top U.S. official has discouraged the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah from becoming involved in the ongoing war between Iran and Israel. Speaking from Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, U.S. Special Envoy for Syria and Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack said on Thursday (June 19) that Hezbollah’s participation in the war would be “a very bad decision.” The British news agency Reuters reported this.Thomas Barrack met with senior Lebanese leaders in Beirut. During the meetings, he condemned the ongoing attacks between Iran and Israel and stated that the United States continues to urge Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah.After meeting with Nabih Berri, the Speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament and a close ally of Hezbollah, Barrack was asked what might happen if Hezbollah joined the regional conflict.In response, Barrack said, “I can speak on behalf of President Donald Trump—who has made it very clear—and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has also stated—this would be an absolutely, absolutely, absolutely bad decision.”Hezbollah has condemned the Israeli strikes on Iran and expressed full solidarity with Iran’s leadership. On Thursday, the group warned that threats against Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would have dire consequences.However, Hezbollah has not yet directly threatened to enter the war. Following Israel’s attack on Iran last week, a Hezbollah official told Reuters that the group would not independently launch an attack on Israel.Hezbollah was significantly weakened in a war with Israel last year. The group’s leadership was severely disrupted, thousands of fighters were killed, and its bases near southern Lebanon and around Beirut were heavily damaged.The U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement that ended that war stipulated that the Lebanese government must ensure no armed group operates outside of the state’s control.On Thursday, Barrack also met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and discussed the exclusive control of arms by the state.At the end of May this year, Thomas Barrack officially took on the role of Special Envoy for Syria.
