THE Donald Trump said today she spoke to her leader Syria on combating Iran-backed violence Hezbollah THE Lebanon, one day after the American president criticised Israel for killing too many civilians without achieving any result.
Asked at the G7 summit in Evian France, if he spoke with Syrian President Ahmed al Sarah about Hezbollah, Trump nodded affirmatively and said "yes". Asked if Sarah is willing to deal with the armed Shia organization, the American president said he would talk about it later.
Yesterday the White House tenant criticised Israel's tactics in the war against Hezbollah, while also praised Sarah, who took power in Syria in 2025 after years of civil war and has made careful moves after the war began on 28 February in the Middle East.
"I think (Lebanon) is the small war, Iran is a big one, but we have this minor nuisance out there that keeps raising its head, and that is Hezbollah," Trump told reporters yesterday on the margins of the summit.
The Republican president has strongly supported Sarah, a former Al-Qaeda commander who overturned Bashar al-Assad's regime and has tried to present himself as a moderate leader trying to unite Syria, which has been wounded by the war, and to end its isolation.
"He has done an amazing job. He's no boy scout, but he's done an amazing job (...) and he's very good with Hezbollah. He doesn't like them," Trump said yesterday.
Reuters said in March that the U.S. had encouraged Syria to consider sending forces to eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, but that Damascus appeared reluctant to undertake such a mission for fear of drifting into the Middle East war and sparking religious tensions in Syria and Lebanon.
Sarah said on Saturday that "the rumors circulating of Syria's entry into Lebanon are completely unfounded," comments published in Syrian state media reported.
Trump has expressed his dissatisfaction with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israeli attacks in Beirut which, he said, could jeopardise his peace agreement with Iran.
Yesterday Tuesday, he said Israel has been fighting Hezbollah for a long time and has killed too many civilians.
"You don't have to destroy an entire building every time you're looking for someone, because there are a lot of people in these buildings and they're not all members of Hezbollah," said the American president.
"I proposed to Israel to let Syria deal with Hezbollah, because to be honest with you, I think they're doing a better job at achieving it.".
Aun: Negotiations with Israel are "independent" from the agreement between US and Iran
Lebanese President Joseph Aun said today that "the negotiation process" with Israel is "independent" of the agreement announced between Washington and Tehran to end the war in the Middle East.
Beirut has been conducting direct negotiations with Israel since April under the auspices of Washington, which the pro-Iran Hezbollah has rejected, and reiterates that she wants to separate them.
However, the announcement by Iran and the Pakistani ombudsman that the agreement between the US and Iran to end the war in the region includes the Lebanese front has re-opened the roles.
Aun said Lebanon welcomes support from every country, including Iran, to help secure a ceasefire, adopting a milder public tone to Tehran after weeks of intense criticism.
Earlier this month, Aun accused Iran of using Lebanon as negotiating paper in his talks with the United States and said Lebanese are killed to serve Iran's interests.
"The guarantees we have received and what we insist on are that the negotiation process is independent, even if we certainly support the truce and every country that comes and helps us, including Iran," the Presidency said.
However, he added that his country would not tolerate "mixing" in its internal affairs.
"The Lebanese state is the master of its decisions and is conducting negotiations for the first time, without anyone negotiating for it," the president of Lebanon stressed.
A fifth round of negotiations is scheduled for June 22nd in Washington between the two countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations.
Hezbollah leader Naim Kasem, expected to be giving a television speech today, thanked Iran Tuesday for allowing "the Israeli-American attack" to be ended in Lebanon. And the Shia movement calls on the authorities to withdraw from negotiations.
Following the announcement of the agreement, which is expected to be signed Friday in Switzerland, Hezbollah reduced its fire frequency against the Israeli army.
Israeli blows have also been reduced, but they have caused five people to die since Monday, according to Lebanese authorities.
Lebanon was dragged into the conflict when Hezbollah launched on 2 March rockets against Israel, which responded with air bombings in which more than 3,800 people were killed and a land operation in the south of the country where troops occupy part of the ground.