Trump Criticizes Lebanon Policy: Israel Cannot Survive Without America

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday declared that without U.S. support, "there would be no Israel right now”, a statement he repeated twice during a G7 meeting for emphasis.

Trump, during a meeting with Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in France at the G7 summit, delivered one of his most direct public assessments of American leverage over Israel.

The two leaders’ session ranged across Iran, Lebanon, Ukraine, and the Persian Gulf, with Trump simultaneously praising a new Iran nuclear framework, criticizing Israeli military conduct in Lebanon, and distancing himself from the concept of regime change.

Trump announced that a deal with Iran had been concluded, describing it as entering a second phase. "We have our deal done with Iran," he said, adding that the follow-on stage "I think will be easier."

He drew a sharp contrast with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiated under President Barack Obama, which he called "the dumbest deal I have ever seen, other than NAFTA."

He claimed that under his arrangement, any Iranian acquisition of a nuclear weapon would trigger military retaliation: "In my deal, if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, they get blown up."

"Rational People" in Tehran

Trump described the new government in Iran as "very rational people" who are "strong and smart" and "not radicalized," attributing past hostility to prior Iranian administrations.

When a reporter noted that the Iranian government continues to suppress its own population, Trump responded that the majority of such actions "took place during the first and second regimes, much more so than now."

He also claimed, without elaboration, that Iran had at one point targeted Türkiye, calling it an act that "nobody is going to understand."

Trump invoked Netanyahu directly in his critique of the Obama-era Iran negotiations, alleging the Israeli prime minister "came to Washington and begged - he begged Obama not to make that deal with Iran," before asserting that Obama "was on the side of Iran, not Israel."

On Lebanon: "You Don't Have to Destroy Every House"

Trump broke openly with Israeli military tactics in Lebanon, telling reporters, "You don't have to knock down an apartment house every time you are looking for somebody. There are a lot of people in those houses, and they are not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you."

He also proposed an unconventional approach to the Hezbollah question, saying he had suggested to Israel that Syria handle the group: "I think they would do a better job."

Despite the criticism, Trump denied any personal friction with Netanyahu: "I am not frustrated with Netanyahu. We have a great relationship," while adding that the Israeli prime minister "has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon."

Qatar's Role and Ukraine on the Margins

Trump praised Emir Tamim directly and personally during the session, telling him: "You fought, and you helped us with great bravery. You will always be my friend." Qatar has served as a key intermediary in Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

On Ukraine, Trump called for Russia to "make a deal," noting that both sides had "lost a tremendous amount of people," and repeated his longstanding position that the conflict has limited direct impact on the United States.

He attributed $350 billion in weapons transfers to Ukraine under Obama, a figure he called "crazy," while describing American involvement primarily in commercial terms: "We sell weapons. We are thousands of miles away."