The US has increased pressure on Syria in recent weeks, targeting more individuals with sanctions.
Hassan Fadlallah, a Lebanese MP from Hezbollah, called the US decision to position the warships off the coast "an attempt to spark tension".
"The American administration has used the policy of sending warships to support its allies in Lebanon before, and that experiment failed and backfired," he said.
"We don't succumb to threats and military intimidation practised by the United States to implement its hegemony over Lebanon."
Richard Murphy, a former US ambassador to Syria, told Al Jazeera that the move was a sign that the US did not know what to do about Lebanon.
"It is gunboat diplomacy. I think it would be more useful for the US to find a way to engage with the conflicting parties in Lebanon.
"We have no dialogue with Syria and this is a moment for dialogue."
A US defence official said the USS Cole, a guided-missile destroyer, left Malta on Tuesday and was headed toward Lebanon, adding it would not be stationed within visible range of Lebanon but "well over the horizon".