U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Israel would not exist today without his actions and that every intelligent Israeli knows it. He also described the agreement reached with Iran as "a good and fair deal," stated that the United States is not investing money in Iran, and warned that if Tehran develops nuclear weapons, "the gates of hell will open on it." Regarding the northern front, Trump said Prime Minister Netanyahu should be "more responsible" in Lebanon and revealed he proposed to Israel that Syria handle Hezbollah, saying he believes Syria would do a better job, according to his remarks as reported by Israeli media.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday sharpened his criticism of Prime Minister Netanyahu's Lebanon policy and claimed that Israel would not exist without his actions. Speaking in remarks published Tuesday afternoon, Trump said every intelligent Israeli knows that 'if not for me, Israel would not exist today.' The comments, reported by Israeli media, extend a day of White House statements on the northern front and the Iran deal.
Trump's latest assertion on Israel's survival echoes a theme he has voiced before, but Tuesday's remarks also included a challenge to Israel's handling of Hezbollah. The Zioneer reported at 13:05 and 13:08 that Trump proposed Syria's al-Sharaa take over Hezbollah containment, asserting that Syria 'would do a better job.' That proposal followed an earlier NBC interview, covered by The Zioneer on Sunday Jun 7 at 19:50 Jerusalem, in which Trump endorsed 'more surgical' strikes on Hezbollah and praised Syrian leadership. On the Iran deal, Trump repeated that the agreement is 'fair' — first stated at 06:59 Jerusalem — and said the US will not invest money in Iran, with Qatar to invest trillions in the US (The Zioneer, 12:53 Jerusalem). He also reiterated his warning that if Iran obtains nuclear weapons, 'the gates of hell will open on it' (12:54 Jerusalem).
The wider context, as reported by The Zioneer on Monday Jun 15 at 19:24 Jerusalem, includes Trump stating that Iran deal details will be published soon and sanctions relief will come only after Iran complies. On Monday evening (22:19 Jerusalem), Trump signaled a shift in focus to Ukraine, saying 'now that Iran is finished, we are going to focus on that.' Trump has separately said he does not require Lebanon to be part of the Iran agreement (Jun 8, 02:59 Jerusalem).
It remains unconfirmed whether the 'fair deal' framework has been finalized in writing; Trump's language remains declarative rather than formal. No formal Israeli response to Trump's Lebanon criticism has been reported.
8 developments
- DevelopingTrump: 'I believe there will be a regime change in Iran'
- DevelopingTrump reportedly sides with Iran on demand that Israel stop attacking Hezbollah
- DevelopingTrump: 'We had a closed deal with Iran, then something didn't sit well with them'
- DevelopingTrump: The Issue Is Not Regime Change but Disarming Iran of Nuclear Weapons
Source and signal
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