ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Syria has limited its relations with Lebanon to the Lebanese state and its national figures, ignoring the insistence of a Lebanese faction widely understood to be Hezbollah on continuing policies that harm Syrians, a senior Syrian presidential advisor said Friday.

Ahmed Zidan, media advisor to the Syrian presidency, said in a post on X that Damascus adopted a new approach in dealing with both internal and foreign affairs after the country’s “liberation,” aimed at overcoming what he described as the painful legacy caused by those who participated in killing Syrians for years.

"The Syrian state has thus confined its relations with Lebanon to the Lebanese state and its national figures, ignoring the insistence of a Lebanese faction on its old policies of harming Syrians, whether by mobilizing in its camps or by strengthening its ties with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard [IRGC]," he continued.

Zidan also reiterated what he described as Syria’s rejection of rumors circulating about the "new Syria" interfering in Lebanese affairs, saying, "Our policy and actions bear witness to what we say, not what those with interests and whims promote."

Syria under former ruler Bashar al-Assad was a key ally of Hezbollah, with a land supply chain from Iran, another of the group's patrons, across Syria and into Lebanon having been severed in December 2024 with the ascencion of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa to power.

Lebanon has moved to curtail the activities of the IRGC in recent days, coming after Hezbollah on Monday launched a minor missile volley toward Israel amid the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran, prompting a large-scale retaliatory bombing campaign that has led exasperated Lebanese officials to bemoan the actions of the Shiite militant group.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that Hezbollah's rocket attack on Israel is "irresponsible," adding that it "endangers Lebanon's security and safety and provides Israel with pretexts to continue its attacks on it." 

According to the country's health ministry, 123 people have been killed since the outbreak of renewed conflict.