Trump urges Israel restraint on Hezbollah at G7
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- Trump on Wednesday cautioned Israel to "use good judgement" in its ongoing military operations against Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group backed by Iran, while meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France.
- Israel is still exchanging strikes with Hezbollah even after the U.S. signed a framework deal on Monday to begin negotiations to wind down the Iran war — a campaign the Trump administration had demanded Israel halt to secure that deal.
- Trump criticized Netanyahu over the weekend, telling Axios: "Why did Bibi have to do a f—ing attack? I was so pissed off. I let him know. He has no f—ing judgement," claiming Israeli strikes nearly broke the U.S.-Iran negotiations.
- At a later Wednesday press conference, Trump praised Netanyahu as "an amazing prime minister" while acknowledging a "little dispute over Lebanon," telling reporters: "You can do a little softer touch, Bibi. You don't have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that's from Hezbollah."
- Trump called the Lebanon peace deal "a very small piece of the puzzle" that "makes a lot of noise" and suggested regional partners take the lead, saying "Syria would love to do it" and Israel "can do a much better job on it."
- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told CNN the U.S.-Iran deal "sets the groundwork for a solution" in Lebanon, arguing "the rest of the G7 and the broader community need to help implement it."
Why it matters: The contradiction between Trump's public restraint messaging at the G7 and his private fury at Netanyahu reveals the Iran framework deal is far more fragile than Monday's announcement suggested — Israel is still actively striking Hezbollah against U.S. wishes, and Trump is now offloading Lebanon's resolution to Syria and other regional partners rather than the U.S.
