Hezbollah leader says no objection to meeting with Syrian authorities

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said Tuesday that he had no objection to meeting with Syria's leadership, the first time he has expressed such a stance, after his Iran-backed group fought for Syria's former authorities that were ousted in 2024.

"There is no impediment to a public meeting between Hezbollah and the Syrian leadership at a time considered appropriate by both sides," Qassem said in a televised address, emphasising "the importance and necessity of positive, fraternal, cooperative relations".

Hezbollah for years fought in support of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in the country's civil war, and Syria served as a key supply route to Lebanon from Iran before the new authorities seized power in December 2024.