EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France, June 17 - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had discussed with Syria’s leader Ahmed al-Sharaa the possibility of confronting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. The comments came at the Group of Seven summit in Evian-les-Bains, where reporters pressed him on whether he had raised the issue directly with Sharaa.
When asked if he had spoken to Sharaa about Hezbollah, Trump nodded and replied "yes." When pressed on whether Sharaa was prepared to take on the Shiite armed group in Lebanon, the president said he would provide more details at a later time.
The exchange followed a broader line of criticism from Trump aimed at Israel, which he said had killed too many civilians and had not effectively resolved the threat posed by Hezbollah. On the sidelines of the summit on Tuesday, he described the Lebanon conflict as a "minor war" compared with Iran, while calling Hezbollah "that little pinprick out there that constantly rears its head."
"I consider that (Lebanon) the minor war, Iran’s a big one, but we have that little pinprick out there that constantly rears its head, and that’s Hezbollah," Trump told reporters.
Trump also moved to praise Sharaa, who assumed power in Syria in 2025 after years of civil war and has maintained a cautious stance since U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. The president lauded Sharaa for rebuilding and consolidating authority in Syria, while acknowledging the Syrian leader’s past.
"He’s done an amazing job of pulling it together. He’s not a Boy Scout, but he’s done an amazing job of pulling it together, and he is very good with Hezbollah. Does not like them," Trump said.
Earlier reporting in March indicated that the U.S. had encouraged Syria to consider sending forces into eastern Lebanon to assist in disarming Hezbollah. According to the coverage at that time, Damascus was reluctant to undertake such an operation because of concerns about being drawn into a broader regional war and inflaming sectarian tensions across Syria and Lebanon.
On Saturday, Sharaa himself rejected reports that Damascus would enter Lebanon. State media in Syria published his comment that "the rumors circulating about Syria entering Lebanon are completely unfounded."
Trump has also made clear his displeasure with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over recent Israeli strikes in Beirut, which the president said might have jeopardized his peace deal with Iran. He argued that Israel had been engaged with the Lebanese militia group for too long and had inflicted excessive civilian casualties.
"You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody. Because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they’re not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you," Trump said.
Asked about alternatives, the president said he had suggested to Israel that Syria might be better positioned to handle Hezbollah, adding:
"I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah, because to be honest with you, I think they do a better job of doing it."
The sequence of remarks at the G7 underlines a U.S. leader publicly weighing the role of regional actors - including a recently empowered Syrian leadership - in addressing militia forces in Lebanon while openly criticizing an ally’s military conduct. The situation also reflects the diplomatic sensitivity around any potential movement of Syrian forces into Lebanon, given concerns about escalation and sectarian impact inside both countries.