Syrian officials are coy when queried how they might rein in Hezbollah, deflecting the question by saying all the problems in the Middle East could be solved through a comprehensive plan to end the Arab-Israeli dispute. But they hint broadly that Syria can deliver, arguing that the omission of Syria, Hezbollah and Iran from diplomatic talks in Rome on Wednesday renders those discussions meaningless.

“I don’t think there is any possible solution without Hezbollah and Syria being at the table,” said one Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because diplomatic relations are so fraught. “Any solution has to take into account the real force in the region. Syria and Hezbollah are a growing force; they are not getting weaker, they are getting stronger.”

President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and others in the administration have said repeatedly that Syria can and should leash Hezbollah, suggesting that maybe Washington’s Arab allies can wean Damascus away from its alliance with both Iran and Tehran’s militant Shiite offspring. In some ways, those are two separate questions, the alliance with Tehran being rather more a passing necessity than a real desire.

Strengthened ties with Iran make Syria feel stronger in the region, along with other factors, like the election of Hamas to lead the Palestinian parliament, and the situation in Iraq. But the link is not hugely popular in Damascus. One prominent economist compared it to a “pleasure marriage,” a temporary union between a man and a woman that Shiites allow for immediate gratification.

“The relation with Iran is the kind of relation created under pressure, when you close all doors in front of Syria,” said the economist, Samir Seifan, noting how the United States, the West and their Arab allies have all shunned Damascus for over a year. “This is the only door we have: Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. But it is not in the long-term interests of Syria.”

Investments in Syria from Arab states bristling with oil wealth, for example, have basically dried up. There is no sign that will change, particularly because the people orchestrating the street demonstrations in Damascus push participants to chant against Arab leaders who have criticized Hezbollah.

“Abdullah, you pig, tomorrow we will drag you in chains,” went one recent refrain, referring to the king of Jordan. Another suggested that President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt was a lowly real estate broker who should be dumped.