Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had spoken with Syria’s leader about efforts to counter Hezbollah in Lebanon, a day after the US President criticised Israel for killing too many civilians without achieving meaningful results.
Asked during the G7 summit in Evian, France, whether he had discussed Hezbollah with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sarra, Trump nodded and replied “yes”. When asked whether al-Sarra was willing to engage with the Shia armed group, Trump said he would address the matter later.
Hezbollah a 'nuisance'
On Tuesday, the US President criticised Israel’s tactics in its war against Hezbollah, while also praising al-Sarra, who came to power in Syria in 2025 following years of civil war and has taken cautious steps since the outbreak of wider conflict 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’s Hezbollah,” Trump told reporters on the sidelines of the summit.
The Republican President has been a vocal supporter of al-Sarra, a former Al-Qaeda commander who toppled Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria, and who has since sought to present himself as a more moderate leader aiming to unify a war-torn country and end its international isolation.
“He’s done a fantastic job. He’s no boy scout, but he’s done a fantastic job (…) and he’s very tough on Hezbollah. He doesn’t like them,” Trump said on Tuesday.
'Let Syria deal with Hezbollah'
Reuters reported in March that the United States had encouraged Syria to consider deploying forces into eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, although Damascus appeared reluctant, fearing it could be drawn into wider regional conflict and trigger sectarian tensions in both Syria and Lebanon.
Al-Sarra said on Saturday that reports of Syrian entry into Lebanon were “completely unfounded”, according to comments published by Syrian state media.
In recent days, Trump has also expressed frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over strikes in Beirut, warning they could jeopardise a broader diplomatic understanding with Iran.
He said Israel had been fighting Hezbollah for too long and accused it of causing excessive civilian casualties.
“You don’t need to destroy an entire building every time you’re looking for someone, because there are a lot of people in those buildings who are not Hezbollah members,” Trump told reporters.
“I suggested to Israel that they let Syria deal with Hezbollah, because frankly I think they do a better job of it,” he added.
