Syria and Hezbollah held secret face-to-face talks in Türkiye last month, opening a rare direct channel between two sides whose relationship collapsed after Bashar al-Assad’s fall.

Reuters, citing six sources briefed on the meeting, says Turkish security and intelligence agencies brought the two sides together in September. Syrian officials asked Hezbollah to help stop cross-border arms smuggling and dismantle remaining cells inside Syria.

Damascus, in turn, assured Hezbollah it would not send forces into Lebanon to disarm the group. Hezbollah pledged not to interfere in Syrian affairs, but gave no direct answer on the smuggling and sleeper-cell demands.

No final agreement was reached. Iran was aware of the talks but did not participate directly, and was reportedly unhappy at being left out.