Reuters reported that Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah does not believe the latest Syria crisis will spiral into a direct U.S.-Russia conflict or a wider all-out war, its deputy leader said in comments published on Friday.
The heavily armed Shi’ite Hezbollah movement has been a vital military ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the seven-year war.
“We rule out the situation developing into a direct American-Russian clash or a wide state of war,” Sheikh Naim Qassem told Lebanese daily al-Joumhouria in an interview, according to Reuters.
“The conditions do not point to a total war happening" he added, "unless U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu completely lose their minds.”
Trump has threatened strikes on Syria after a suspected gas attack on a rebel-held town which a Syrian medical relief group said killed at least 60 people, and a Russian envoy voiced fears of a wider conflict between Washington and Moscow.