In a meeting with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, Trump said he suggested to Israel that Syria should take responsibility for Hezbollah. He repeated his disapproval of the Israeli attack on Beirut, saying: “Israel cannot do that without killing others, so Syria should handle it.” He added: “The war in Lebanon is secondary, and the nuclear deal with Iran stands on its own. I did not like the Israeli attack on Beirut, and Netanyahu must now act more responsibly toward Lebanon, because without me there would be no Israel.”

Trump surprised observers by stating he believes Israel could leave the matter of Hezbollah to Syria. He emphasized that the United States will not invest millions in Iran as former President Obama did, and that he is not interested in regime change in Tehran. He explained that his motivation for signing the memorandum of understanding was the promise that Iran would not acquire nuclear weapons. He also revealed that attempts at regime change in Iran had failed, and that efforts to obtain enriched uranium from Iran were unsuccessful.