Trump: Hezbollah is a threat to the people of Lebanon and the region

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, stated on Tuesday that Bashar al-Assad has committed horrific crimes in Syria and that the U.S. will not allow him to escape. He also mentioned that Hezbollah is a threat to the government and people of Lebanon and the entire region. Mr. Trump, speaking at a joint press conference with Saad Hariri, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, in Washington, responded to a question about the situation of Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, saying: "I am certainly not a supporter of Bashar al-Assad. I think what he has done to his country and to humanity is very horrific." The U.S. President continued by referring to the use of chemical weapons by Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, adding: "I am not someone who will sit by and let him escape with what he wants to do. He has done this several times." He criticized the approach of the Barack Obama administration toward the Syrian government, emphasizing that if the previous U.S. administration had acted against Bashar al-Assad crossing red lines, Russia and Iran would not have a role in Syria now. Donald Trump also referred to the reaction to the chemical attack in Khan Shaykhun, saying, "I ordered 59 Tomahawk missiles to be fired at a Syrian government base." Following the chemical attacks in Khan Shaykhun in Idlib province earlier this year, at least 70 people, some of whom were children, were killed. U.S. officials had previously emphasized that this attack was carried out by Syrian government forces, which the Damascus government denied. In response to this chemical attack, the U.S. targeted the Shayrat airbase in Homs province with 59 missiles. In 2013, after evidence of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war emerged, and hundreds were killed in an area controlled by rebels, the United States warned that it would take military action against the Syrian government. However, ultimately, based on an agreement between Washington and Moscow, Syria accepted chemical disarmament. At that time, the White House announced that 1,429 people were killed in the chemical attack by Bashar al-Assad's government in the suburbs of Damascus, at least 426 of whom were children. Iran and Russia are the main supporters of Bashar al-Assad's government in the Syrian civil war. "Hezbollah is a threat to the region" Donald Trump continued by accusing Iran and Hezbollah of exacerbating the humanitarian disaster in Syria. The U.S. President stated: "Hezbollah is a threat to the Lebanese government, the people of Lebanon, and the entire region." He added: "This group, with the support of Iran, is spreading the humanitarian disaster in Syria." Trump also specified that Hezbollah only thinks about its own interests and those of Iran. In response to a question about the possibility of new sanctions against this group, he said: "I will clarify my positions regarding Hezbollah within the next 24 hours. I will hold a meeting with my military advisors and others about this, and I will announce my decision very soon." Hezbollah forces have been deployed in Syria since 2012, participating in the war alongside forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad against the opposition. According to unconfirmed reports, more than two thousand Hezbollah members have been killed in the fight for the survival of Bashar al-Assad's government, and nearly five thousand other members of this organization have been injured in Syria. Mustafa Badreddine, the commander of Hezbollah's military branch, was killed in Syria last year; Hezbollah attributed his killing to Takfiri forces in Syria and denied that he was killed by Israel.