The United States has called on Hezbollah and Iran to immediately withdraw their fighters from Syria.
In a statement in the wake of reports that Syrian security forces regained control of the embattled town of Qusair, the White House strongly condemned the Assad regime's assault on Qusair, which has "killed untold numbers of civilians and is causing tremendous humanitarian suffering."
The Syrian government and other parties to this conflict have an obligation under international human rights and humanitarian law to immediately allow neutral, impartial humanitarian organizations, including U.N. agencies, safe access to evacuate the wounded and provide life-saving medical supplies and treatment, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in the statement.
"It is clear that the regime could not contest the Opposition's control of Qusair on its own, and is depending upon Hezbollah and Iran to do its work for it in Qusair. Hezbollah's involvement in Syria and the Syrian regime's cross border attack today on Arsal represent blatant violations of Lebanon's sovereignty and a deliberate threat to Lebanese stability. The United States firmly supports Lebanon's security, stability and sovereignty. We commend and support recent statements by Lebanon's leaders calling for adherence to Lebanon's policy of dissociation from the Syrian conflict. We also urge all parties to avoid actions that could exacerbate the already devastating toll of this crisis on civilians and increase the risks of spillover of violence," the statement said.
The United States renewed its pledge to stand firmly on the side of the Syrian people in their fight for freedom and dignity. "We will continue to provide support to the moderate political and military opposition to help them shift the balance on the ground to advance a political transition based on the principles of the Geneva Communiqué. Assad's refusal to step aside is only prolonging the suffering of the Syrian people and postponing the inevitable. Assad's reign will end, and the Syrian people will build a new, democratic Syria without him. Those who have committed these heinous crimes against the Syrian people will be held accountable," the White House warned.
Syrian state TV and Lebanese militant outfit Hezbollah, which fights alongside the Syrian army, on Wednesday said that security forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad regained control of Qusair, and claimed "widespread collapse" of the rebel forces in the key crossing point to Lebanon.
Jay Carney in a daily briefing said that "a regime like Assad has its partners in tyranny here -- Hezbollah and Iran -- says a great deal about their intentions and the fact that Assad's principal concern has been his own grasp on power, not his own people -- people that he's butchered." "So we are working with all of our allies and partners and the Syrian opposition to strengthen the opposition, to isolate the Assad regime, and to bring about a peaceful transition," he told reporters.
Meanwhile, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told a news conference that Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, Ambassador to Libya Deborah K. Jones, and envoy to Syria Robert Ford on Wednesday concluded "substantive and useful conversations" with Russian and U.N. officials on planning for the Geneva conference on Syria, which he said is possible only by July. Their discussion focused on efforts to advance a negotiated political solution as well as the devastating humanitarian crisis in Syria, particularly in Qusair, and the urgent need to allow humanitarian access for aid to reach those in need.
They agreed that the objectives of this conference are focused on trying to form a transitional government, governing body, and all government institutions will transfer authority to this new governing body, and that no executive power will remain with the (Bashar-al-Assad) regime. The U.N. Secretary General will issue conference invitations to participants, which will begin with a plenary session at the ministerial level, and then the proceedings would be turned over to Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi, who is the negotiator.
Two delegations representing the Syrian opposition and the regime will participate in the negotiations. In addition, the Secretary-General is expected to invite those who participated in the first Geneva conference and the group known as the London 11. "And the same delegation of officials that met today will return to Geneva on June 25th to take stock of preparations for this conference," Psaki told reporters.
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Political News
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.