Is a man kissing his male friend with desire, without intercourse, considered forbidden in Islam?

This act is a forbidden perversion and leads to what is worse than it, so it must be stopped. And the approach to adultery, sodomy, and other forbidden acts is through committing the causes that lead to them. Therefore, lowering the gaze, not speaking in a soft and alluring manner, and the prohibition of seclusion are obligatory to block that door.