Trump criticizes Israel’s Lebanon strike as U.S.-Iran deal nears completion

Donald Trump used the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, to confront one of his closest regional partners publicly, saying an Israeli strike in Beirut came just two hours before the United States was set to sign an agreement with Iran. He said the attack on Lebanon’s capital “should not have happened” on what he called a special day, and described it as “vicious” and “too much.”

The timing matters because the U.S.-Iran deal was being finalized as Trump spoke, after earlier expectations that it would be signed on Sunday and later formally in Switzerland. Trump and mediators in Pakistan had expected the agreement to land on Sunday, which was also Trump’s 80th birthday. The draft accord was said to include a U.S. promise to release $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets in exchange for Iran agreeing not to produce or acquire nuclear weapons.

The strike in Beirut also reopened a deeper fault line between Washington and Jerusalem over how far Israel can go in Lebanon. Trump said he has a “great relationship” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but added that Netanyahu needs to be “more responsible” in Lebanon. Israel was not a party to the planned U.S.-Iran deal, and Netanyahu had already diverged with Trump over U.S. demands that Israel curb its military action in Lebanon.

Iran moved quickly to turn the strike into evidence against Washington. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf argued that the attack showed the United States lacked the will or ability to meet its commitments, while Iran’s foreign ministry blamed the United States for the Israeli strike in Lebanon and warned of a strong response. The conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon had already been reignited by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran that began on Feb. 28, giving the Beirut strike immediate weight inside a wider regional confrontation.

Trump said he would next try to bring closure to the fighting in Ukraine and Lebanon, signaling that the White House wants to frame the Iran agreement as part of a broader ceasefire push rather than a standalone nuclear bargain. Emmanuel Macron called the U.S.-Iran memorandum a “very important step for peace” and said France was ready to help with mine-clearing in the Strait of Hormuz. For now, the episode leaves a central test unresolved: whether Trump’s public rebuke marks a real constraint on Israeli action or only a temporary warning while the deal is being sealed.