Iran threatens to target Syrian presidential palace, hotels as part of war with US

Iran has threatened to target the presidential palace in the Syrian capital Damascus, as well as two luxury hotels, as part of what it calls its campaign against US interests in the region.

The semi-official Iranian Fars News Agency claimed on its Telegram channel that “Israeli, American and British advisors and experts” were present at the Four Seasons Hotel and the Sheraton Damascus Hotel, as well as at the Presidential Palace complex.

Fars said that Iran had issued an ultimatum to hotel owners throughout the Middle East and the wider region, warning them not to accommodate foreign military personnel, adding that they would be “considered legitimate military targets” if they did not comply.

Fars also claimed that US forces had sought refuge in hotels in Bahrain and the UAE, adding that Iran had sent a “firm warning” to hotel owners, particularly in those two Gulf countries, not to host them.

It also said that Iranian intelligence had found that a US logistics base at Beirut Airport in Lebanon had become “active” and that US Marines had recently been transported to an airbase at Djibouti International Airport in East Africa.

The New Arab could not independently verify any of Fars’s claims bur Tehran has alleged that other hotels in the Gulf region targeted in Iranian drone and missile strikes were hosting US personnel.

Iran has been targeting Gulf countries ever since the US and Israel launched a war against it at the end of last month. It claims to be only striking US interests, but it has also hit civilian areas and energy infrastructure.

Gulf countries have repeatedly said that they have not allowed US forces to carry out attacks on Iran from their territory or airspace.

Iran was a key backer of the regime of ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, sending troops and fighters from regional proxy militias, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, to support him during Syria’s brutal civil war.

After the Assad regime fell in December 2024, Iran lost influence in Syria, with the new government of President Ahmed Al-Sharaa seeking to establish ties with Arab and Western countries while keeping its distance from Tehran.

Sharaa has previously said however that he is working to keep Syria out of the war in the region.