Trump: Israel’s war on Hezbollah is too long, too deadly; Syria should fight the group instead

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Syria should replace Israel in the fight against Lebanon’s Hezbollah, arguing that the Jewish state’s war on the Iran-backed terror group has been too prolonged and indiscriminate, and adding that Israel would have been “blown off the face of the earth” if not for him.

He also threatened unspecified “ultimate consequences” if Iran acquires a nuclear weapon in defiance of the US-Iran agreement to end the war, which was signed digitally on Sunday.

Speaking at the G7 summit of global leaders in France, Trump criticized Israel’s conduct in its fight against Hezbollah. He said that the conflict has gone on for too long, suggesting that Israel has been killing too many noncombatants.

“Israel is fighting Hezbollah too long and too many people are being killed,” Trump said. “And you don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody. Because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses. And they’re not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you.”

Trump said later: “I’m not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah. They should have been able to do the job faster. It just goes on forever. And when that happens, it throws a negative light on the big deal, and that’s the deal with Iran.”

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He reiterated that he was upset about Israel’s strike on Hezbollah in Beirut on Sunday, shortly before the interim peace deal between Iran and the US was announced.

“I didn’t like where, two hours before we’re signing the agreement, that there was an attack in Lebanon, in Beirut,” he said.

Israel launched the strike after Hezbollah fired several rockets into Israel.

He referred to Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Islamist rebel leader and now the president of Syria, saying that he would more effectively lead the fight against Hezbollah.

“I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah,” Trump said. “Because to be honest with you, I think they’d do a better job of doing it.”

He said of Sharaa: “He’s very capable. And he’s been very good for me. He’s protected everything that I’ve asked for… And if Israel can’t do the job without killing everyone else, he’ll do the job. Syria will do the job.”

Hezbollah had assisted former Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in keeping control during the more-than decade-long Syrian civil war. Sharaa was only eventually able to rout Assad’s forces after Israel severely weakened Hezbollah and killed much of its leadership in late 2024.

Israeli troops are currently stationed deep within southern Lebanon, and the Israeli military has struck targets throughout the country, ever since the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group attacked Israel on March 2 in support of Tehran.

Later Tuesday, Hezbollah’s media relations office told Reuters that the Shiite organization had received assurances from its backer Iran that it would demand a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon in its next phase of talks with the United States.

An IDF withdrawal will be the result of, and not a precondition for, continuing talks between Tehran and Washington, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries on Friday, Hezbollah said.

The group said there would be “no nuclear deal between Iran and the United States unless the Israelis withdraw” from Lebanon.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has publicly warned that any Israeli attack on Lebanon or continued presence in Lebanese territory would constitute a violation of the agreement with the United States.

Location announced for formal signing ceremony

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington and Tehran had signed a memorandum of understanding to extend their ongoing ceasefire by 60 days and to open the Strait of Hormuz, while holding negotiations on a long-term resolution to the conflict over Iran’s nuclear program.

The MOU, already signed digitally, is set to be signed formally in Switzerland on Friday. That same day, Iran and the US will start a new round of negotiations to reach a final agreement.

According to Axios, Trump aides Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will attend the meetings, alongside US Vice President JD Vance, as will Araghchi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf.

The signing ceremony is expected to be held at the Burgenstock mountaintop resort in central Switzerland, according to a statement issued by the Swiss government on Tuesday. The site, located near Lucerne in central Switzerland, is difficult to access and therefore easily secured.

The Swiss foreign ministry said in a statement that it had been in close contact with the US, Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar, regarding the possible signing of a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran.

“At this stage, the signing is scheduled for Friday, June 19, at Burgenstock in the canton of Nidwalden. The location was proposed by the Pakistani and Qatari mediators, as well as by the US and Iran,” the ministry said.

Vance said Monday that he believes Israel will become a party to the emerging US-Iran deal at some point in the future, adding that the MOU is “about a page and a half, so it is a very general document,” and that many details have been left for the next phase of negotiations.

An administration official, briefing reporters on Monday, said that the text would likely be released in the next 24 to 48 hours, though Trump himself said Monday that it would only be released after the Friday ceremony.

‘Israel would not exist right now’

Also in his G7 speech, Trump said Israel owes its continued existence to the United States.

“If it weren’t for the United States of America, with me… Israel would not exist right now. Israel would have been blown off the face of the earth, 100 percent. And every smart person in Israel knows that,” he said.

Trump also praised his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following a series of negative comments he made about the premier in recent days, including saying that the premier was “crazy” and had “no fucking judgement.”

Asked whether he is frustrated with Netanyahu after the two clashed over Israel’s bombing of Hezbollah targets in Beirut on Sunday, Trump said: “We have a very good relationship… an unbelievable relationship.”

Trump also warned that “all hell will rain down” on Iran if it attempts to develop, purchase, or otherwise acquire a nuclear weapon.

“They’re not going to acquire a nuclear weapon. If they do, all hell will rain down on them,” Trump said.

He added that the preliminary deal “says it loud and clear. They’re not going to develop it. They’re not going to buy it. They’re not going to do anything with it. And if they do, they suffer unbelievable consequences.”

He said that he only agreed to sign the document after Tehran agreed to adjust the wording so that it prevented them not only from developing a nuclear weapon, but also from purchasing one or acquiring it through some other means.

Trump did not specify what the consequences for doing so would be, however, saying: “I won’t even tell you the consequences. But the consequences are the ultimate consequences. And with that being said, I hope we have a very good relationship.”

“I think it’s going to go pretty quickly,” Trump told reporters about the next phase of negotiations with Iran, stipulated with a 60-day deadline.

“Iran wants to get it done. They have to get back to business, and the relationship is now normalized, so I think it’s going to go pretty quickly,” Trump told reporters during his meeting with Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates. “Could go faster, could take longer too, but it could go fast.”

However, European allies have voiced concern that an inexperienced US negotiating team could struggle to secure a robust agreement, potentially leading to a prolonged standoff.

Diplomats and analysts note that Iranian negotiators are highly skilled in nuclear diplomacy, often exploiting weaknesses in their counterparts and buying time to advance their agenda, making the prospect of a comprehensive agreement within 60 days challenging.

In 2015, former US president Barack Obama secured a nuclear deal with Iran in exchange for sanctions relief, a process that took two years to finalize. Trump withdrew the United States from that accord during his first term.

“This deal is a wall to a nuclear weapon. [Obama’s] deal was a road to a nuclear weapon. My deal, they can’t have a nuclear, they get blown up,” Trump said.

Netanyahu made a similar argument in a press conference on Monday evening, saying that while Obama’s deal was not accompanied by a credible military threat if Iran does not comply, the recent war provides such a threat in the case of the current deal.

Iran has long insisted that it does not seek a nuclear weapon, and made such a commitment in the 2015 deal that Trump vilified and withdrew from in 2018.

Both of Trump’s administrations, along with Israel, have refused thus far to take Tehran at its word, something the US president seemed to indicate he was now prepared to do.

Iran, whose leaders frequently call for the destruction of Israel, has always maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, but it has enriched uranium to levels far beyond what is necessary for civilian use and has obstructed inspectors from examining its facilities.

Trump claims he does not ‘believe in regime change’

Continuing his remarks, Trump claimed he had “never cared about regime change” as a goal in the US-Israeli campaign against Tehran, while reiterating his belief that the elimination of so many senior Iranian officials effectively amounts to regime change, even though the Islamic Republic’s theocratic system has remained intact and stable.

“You talk about regime change. I never cared about regime change. It [was] never a part. But I guess you have regime change because you know better than anybody, the first group, they’re all dead. The second group, they’re dead. A part of the third group is gone,” he said, referring to echelons of the Iranian leadership.

“And we’re dealing with people that I think are very rational people. They were nice to deal with. They were strong people, smart people. I think actually they’re smarter than the first and second group, but they’re not radicalized and they’re, you know, looking to help their country,” he continued.

“I don’t believe in regime change,” he added. “And I’ve watched regime changes for years. They never work. It has to just happen [naturally].”

On the first day of the war in late February, Trump indicated that the goal of the strikes in Iran was to topple the regime, and called on the Iranian people to seize the opportunity to take over their government, telling them that “the hour of your freedom is at hand.”

“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations,” he said at the time.