Trump criticizes Israel over Beirut strike, praises Erdoğan on Syria: “They brought the country back together”

US President Donald Trump made striking remarks on both Israel and Syria while commenting on the agreement reached with Iran. Trump said Israel had been fighting Hezbollah for too long and that too many people were being killed. He also said he was unhappy about the strike on Beirut. On Syria, Trump highlighted President Erdoğan’s role, saying the country had been brought back together.

Trump praises Erdoğan on Syria

Speaking on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, Trump commented on the situation in Syria. “The person running Syria, together with President Erdoğan, did a good job. They brought the country back together,” Trump said.

His remarks came as he was discussing the Iran agreement and the wider regional ceasefire process.

Warning to Israel over Lebanon

Trump also openly criticized Israel’s approach in Lebanon. He said Israel had been fighting Hezbollah for too long and that too many people were being killed.

“Israel is fighting Hezbollah too long, and too many people are getting killed,” Trump said.

He also criticized the scale of Israeli strikes, saying, “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.”

“Syria would do a better job”

The US president suggested that Syria could be more effective in dealing with Hezbollah. “I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah. To be honest with you, I think they would do a better job,” Trump said.

He also criticized an Israeli strike on Beirut shortly before the agreement was expected to be signed.

“For example, two hours before we were going to sign the deal, there was a strike in Beirut. It wasn’t in the south; it was directly in Beirut. I did not like that. I told them very clearly that I did not like it,” he said.

Erdoğan holds talks with Trump and regional leaders: Diplomacy message on Iran

“Israel would not exist without the US”

Trump also emphasized Washington’s support for Israel. “Israel would not exist without the United States,” Trump said, adding that Israel should show more respect toward Lebanon.

Although he described the Lebanon front as a smaller conflict compared to the Iran war, Trump suggested that developments there could still put the agreement process at risk.

Iran deal moves to second phase

Trump said the agreement with Iran was fair and should succeed. “We think the agreement announced with Iran is a fair deal. It needs to succeed,” he said.

Trump added that the deal was moving into its second phase and stressed that the US would not give Iran any money.

“We are not giving Iran any money in any way,” he said.

He also said Iran would not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, describing that as the central purpose of the agreement.

“All hell will break loose if Tehran seeks nukes”

Trump warned that Iran would face severe consequences if it pursued nuclear weapons. He argued that a nuclear-armed Iran would have posed a major threat to the entire Middle East. “If Tehran wants nuclear weapons, all hell will break loose,” Trump said.

He also claimed that Iran had been close to acquiring nuclear capability and that this would have affected the entire region.

Regime change message

Trump said he does not support regime change in Iran. “I don’t believe in regime change. I’ve watched regime changes for years; they never work,” he said.

He also defended his decision to withdraw from the Obama-era nuclear deal, arguing that the previous agreement had put Iran on the path to a nuclear weapon.

Qatar backs the process

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also praised Trump’s leadership during their meeting. The Qatari leader described the agreement as an important step for the Middle East and said Qatar was ready to help the process move forward.

Trump, for his part, repeated that the agreement was fair and rejected claims that the US would invest money in Iran.