Donald Trump said today that he had spoken with the leader of Syria about combating Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, a day after the US president criticised Israel for killing too many civilians without achieving results.

Asked at the G7 summit in Evian, France, whether he had spoken with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shaara about Hezbollah, Trump nodded and said “yes”. When asked whether al-Shaara is willing to deal with the armed Shia organisation, the US president said he would speak about it later.

Yesterday, the White House occupant criticised Israel’s tactics in its war against Hezbollah, while also praising al-Shaara, who took power in Syria in 2025 after years of civil war and has taken cautious steps since the start of the war in the Middle East on 28 February.

“I think (Lebanon) is the small war, Iran is a big one, but we’ve got this little nuisance out there that keeps popping up, and that is Hezbollah,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday on the sidelines of the summit.

The Republican president has strongly supported al-Shaara, a former al-Qaeda commander who overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s regime and has sought to present himself as a moderate leader attempting to unify war-torn Syria and end its isolation.

“He’s 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 reported in March that the US had encouraged Syria to consider deploying forces in eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, but Damascus appeared reluctant, fearing being drawn into the Middle East conflict and triggering sectarian tensions in Syria and Lebanon.

Al-Shaara said on Saturday that “rumours circulating about Syria entering Lebanon are completely unfounded”, according to comments published by Syrian state media.

Trump has in recent days expressed dissatisfaction with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israeli strikes in Beirut, which he said could jeopardise his peace agreement with Iran.

On Tuesday, he said Israel had been fighting Hezbollah for a long time and had killed too many civilians.

“You don’t need to destroy an entire building every time you’re looking for someone, because there are many people in those buildings and not all of them are members of Hezbollah,” the US president said.

“I suggested to Israel that they let Syria deal with Hezbollah, because, to be honest with you, I think they do a better job of achieving that.”

Aoun: Negotiations With Israel “Independent” of US–Iran Agreement

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun 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 US mediation, talks rejected by Hezbollah, while insisting they remain separate from wider regional agreements.

However, the announcement by Iran and a Pakistani mediator that the US–Iran deal to end the regional war includes the Lebanese front has reshuffled roles.

Aoun said Lebanon welcomes support from any country, including Iran, to help secure a ceasefire, adopting a softer public tone toward Tehran after weeks of sharp criticism.

Earlier this month, Aoun accused Iran of using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in talks with the United States and said Lebanese people are being killed to serve Iranian interests.

“The guarantees we have received, and what we insist on, is that the negotiation process is independent, even if we certainly support a ceasefire and any country that comes and helps us, including Iran,” he said according to a presidential statement.

He added, however, that the country will not tolerate “interference” in its internal affairs.

“The Lebanese state is the master of its decisions and is conducting negotiations for the first time without anyone negotiating on its behalf,” the Lebanese president stressed.

A fifth round of talks is scheduled for 22 June in Washington between the two countries, which do not maintain diplomatic relations.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, expected to deliver a televised speech today, thanked Iran on Tuesday for allowing what he described as the end of the “Israeli-American aggression” against Lebanon. The Shiite movement is calling on authorities to withdraw from negotiations.

Following the announcement of the agreement, which is expected to be signed on Friday in Switzerland, Hezbollah reduced the frequency of its fire against the Israeli army.

Israeli strikes also decreased, but nevertheless killed five people since Monday, according to Lebanese authorities.

Lebanon was drawn into the conflict when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel on 2 March, prompting Israeli air strikes that killed more than 3,800 people and a ground operation in the south of the country where troops occupy part of the territory.