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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told senior Trump administration officials in closed-door talks that any future U.S.-Iran agreement will not stop Israel's war in Lebanon.
He separately told Newsmax that Iran's missiles now place "much of Europe" within range while praising U.S. President Donald Trump for recognizing the Iranian threat "40 years ago."
'Lebanon does not matter to Trump’
The Israel Hayom daily reported on Monday that Netanyahu conveyed a clear message to senior Trump administration officials: an agreement between Washington and Tehran will not bind Israel in Lebanon.
"Israel will continue to take advantage of the opportunity to eliminate Hezbollah even if there is an agreement between Trump and Iranian officials," the report said.
According to the newspaper, Netanyahu rejected a French proposal to halt the war against Hezbollah in exchange for French President Emmanuel Macron's commitment to help resolve the situation.
Netanyahu is said to believe that Israel now has an opportunity to significantly improve its security situation by pushing Hezbollah beyond the Litani River.
A senior Israeli official quoted by the newspaper claimed that the United States has accepted Israel's position. "Lebanon does not matter to President Trump," the official was quoted as saying.
Netanyahu praised President Trump extensively throughout the interview, crediting him with understanding the Iranian threat long before it became a front-page crisis.
"Donald Trump, he said 40 years ago...'Iran is the great danger. ' When they took over hostages in the American embassy, he said, 'This regime has to be confronted,'" Netanyahu said.
He praised Trump's 2018 withdrawal from the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as a decisive and necessary move.
"President Trump didn't ignore it. He recognized the threat decades ago and acted decisively, including leaving the Iran nuclear deal," he said.
He described Trump's leadership throughout the current conflict as exceptional. "President Trump has shown amazing leadership, amazing fortitude. He's bold, but he also, he thinks about things a lot more carefully than people think. But he's bold," Netanyahu added.
Netanyahu praised Trump extensively throughout the interview, crediting him with understanding the Iranian threat before it became a front-page crisis.
"Donald Trump, he said 40 years ago... 'Iran is the great danger.' When they took over hostages in the American embassy, he said, 'This regime has to be confronted,'" Netanyahu said.
He praised Trump's 2018 withdrawal from the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as a decisive and necessary move.
"President Trump didn't ignore it. He recognized the threat decades ago and acted decisively, including leaving the Iran nuclear deal," he said.
He described Trump's leadership throughout the current conflict as exceptional. "President Trump has shown amazing leadership, amazing fortitude. He's bold, but he's also, he thinks about things a lot more carefully than people think. But he's bold," Netanyahu added.
He framed the conflict as one that extends far beyond Israel. "This is not just Israel's problem. What kind of world would we have if they had nuclear weapons? And that's what President Trump, with my support and our partnership, has set out to prevent," Netanyahu noted.
Israel has pounded Lebanon with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2.
Lebanese authorities have reported that at least 1,247 people were killed and 3,690 were injured in Israeli attacks.
The escalation came amid a joint U.S.-Israeli offensive on Iran that has killed more than 1,340 people since Feb. 28.
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