Qatar expands strategic footprint in Syria, Lebanon as regional ambitions grow

Experts have warned that billions of dollars in Gulf funding for Syria’s reconstruction could pose a risk of terrorist financing without strong and transparent oversight to ensure the funds are properly monitored.

By Ailin Vilches Arguello, The Algemeiner

Qatar is steadily expanding its influence across Syria and Lebanon, using investment, military assistance, and diplomacy to advance its regional ambitions and strategic interests while presenting itself to the international community as a force for reconstruction and mediation, according to a new report.

The Alma Research and Education Center, which focuses on Israel’s security challenges along its northern border, released a new report on Monday warning of Qatar’s expanding influence in Syria and Lebanon — from major investments in Syrian infrastructure and energy to funding the Lebanese Armed Forces and mediating between Jerusalem and Beirut.

Yaakov Lappin, a Middle East expert and author of the report, explained that Qatar has been steadily broadening its footprint across Syria and Lebanon, using its growing involvement in energy, infrastructure, health care, finance, and other sectors to advance its regional interests and expand its strategic reach.

In Syria, the report argues that Qatar is seeking a role in shaping the country’s future following the fall of longtime Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, going beyond investment and aid to establish a long-term presence in vital sectors such as electricity, gas, aviation, transportation, communications, banking, and public services.

“Investment in power plants, gas supplies, Damascus airport, and the financial system gives Qatar influence over the new administration’s ability to provide basic services, attract foreign capital, and restore public legitimacy,” Lappin writes in the report.

“In practical terms, Doha is not merely financing projects; it seeks to become an indispensable partner in the daily functioning of the regime in Damascus,” he explains.

Among the most recent signs of Qatar’s expanding presence in Syria, Qatari authorities signed a package of 12 strategic projects in Damascus last year, reportedly worth $14 billion in total, covering infrastructure, transportation, and real estate, including an estimated $4 billion project to rehabilitate and expand Damascus International Airport and develop a metro system in the Syrian capital.

According to Alma’s newly released report, Qatar has increasingly relied on Turkey as a strategic partner in Syria, with Doha providing the financial backing and Ankara contributing its security presence, construction and logistics networks, military capabilities, and political influence across the northern part of the country.

“For Ankara, Qatari capital finances part of the ambition to turn Syria into an economic and security space linked to Turkey; for Doha, the Turkish presence provides a mechanism of protection, logistics, and implementation capacity that Qatar does not possess on its own,” Lappin explained.

Qatar and Turkey are both backers of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and have long been linked to giving political and ideological support to the transnational Muslim Brotherhood network.

Experts have warned that billions of dollars in Gulf funding for Syria’s reconstruction could pose a risk of terrorist financing without strong and transparent oversight to ensure the funds are properly monitored.

As for Qatar’s role in Lebanon, the report shows how Doha has gradually expanded its support for the Lebanese Armed Forces beyond salary assistance to include military vehicles, fuel, and infrastructure, while also seeking a growing role as a mediator in indirect talks between Jerusalem and Beirut.

According to Alma’s data, Doha has reportedly provided at least $140 million to support the Lebanese military, alongside deliveries of military trucks and other assistance aimed at strengthening the army.

Beyond financial support, Qatar has also attempted to position itself as a central mediator between Israel and Lebanon, with experts warning that its expanding involvement could give Doha strategic leverage beyond purely humanitarian or military assistance.

At the same time, Qatar is channeling funds into Shiite areas in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley, raising concerns that its assistance could, in practice, help Hezbollah consolidate and strengthen its hold in those communities.

For example, the Qatari government allocated $480 million earlier this year to rebuild three Lebanese villages in the country’s south.

“Qatari assistance to Lebanon gives Doha a double lever: direct access to Lebanese state institutions, foremost among them the army and security forces, alongside the ability to influence the pace of reconstruction in the Shiite sphere,” Lappin explains.

“From Hezbollah’s perspective, the value of the assistance is not necessarily in the direct transfer of funds to the organization, but rather in the way unconditional aid, or aid that is not subject to verification of disarmament, reduces the political and social cost of continuing to hold weapons,” he continues.

In other words, reconstruction funds reaching southern villages through local councils, contractors, and aid networks without sufficient outside oversight could strengthen Hezbollah’s civilian support system even when the money is not transferred directly to the Iran-backed terrorist group.

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