Unsatisfied with its significant control over northern Syria and Iraq, Ankara is seeking to establish a political, security, and economic foothold in northern Lebanon – while Beirut watches impotently.

As Lebanon grapples with its myriad domestic crises and the geopolitical repercussions of the recent Israeli–Iranian war, Turkiye is stealthily expanding into Lebanese territory – particularly in the northern city of Tripoli and its surroundings.

Ankara’s project is no longer limited to aid or educational programs to favored Sunni communities in the Lebanese state; it now encompasses far more complex tools: naturalization, religious outreach, penetration of vital infrastructure, and a security apparatus managed directly by Turkish intelligence operating out of Damascus.

A Tripoli directed from Damascus

Security sources inform The Cradle that Tripoli, the largest city in northern Lebanon, is now a major Turkish influence zone — managed and monitored by Turkish intelligence through a field office based in the Damascus area of Mezze. The operation is overseen by Turkish officer A.S., who runs a field-intelligence network in Tripoli tasked with overseeing street-level developments, coordinating political and religious activities, collecting information, and establishing a sustainable Turkish soft-power base in Lebanon.

For over a decade, Ankara has been amassing soft power infrastructure across northern Lebanon. Organizations like the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and the Diyanet Foundation have increased Turkiye’s humanitarian, religious, and educational presence, targeting impoverished Sunni communities in Tripoli, Minieh, Dinnieh, Akkar, and elsewhere. These agencies provide food and financial assistance, hundreds of annual scholarships, and manage mosques, schools, and cultural centers.

But the most sensitive tool they have employed is the granting of Turkish citizenship to hundreds of Lebanese families, under the pretext of Ottoman or Turkmen ancestry. This practice has birthed a dual-loyalty demographic – Lebanese-Turkish – that Ankara can activate in any future regional or domestic conflict. It is both a soft power base and a potential lever of political influence.

The security arm: From Mezzeh to Tripoli

But behind the cover of ‘civilian agencies’ lies a carefully managed Turkish intelligence operation. According to The Cradle’s sources, Turkish officer A.S., who heads the Syria station, also supervises a field post in Tripoli led locally by a man named M.S..

M.S. moves freely across the city’s northern districts and receives direct logistical and technical support from Ankara, including satellite-based communication devices to evade interception by Lebanese networks.

He also runs a network of local operatives, working in coordination with social and religious structures under the umbrella of a figure known as A.A., who oversees a religious outreach network in Bab al-Tabbaneh. Operating under the banner of “moderate Turkish Islam,” this initiative is in fact building a community matrix aligned with Ankara.

The full Cradle Media report

Recently, Erdogan’s protégé Jolani blatantly claimed Tripoli and other parts of Lebanon, including the Bekaa region for Syria under the French Mandat, which was also confirmed by the Ambassador Barrack.

The Ambassador stated that Jolani is in preparations to takeover Lebanon, which he then retrieved after being pressured by official channels.