Trump Rebukes Netanyahu Over Lebanon as US-Iran Deal Heads to Signing

by | Jun 18, 2026 | News

President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump used the closing day of the G7 summit in France to publicly distance himself from Israel, sharpening a rift with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even as a landmark agreement with Iran moved toward signing.

Speaking at the summit on Wednesday, Trump criticized Israel’s handling of its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, pointing to deaths caused by Israeli strikes and suggesting Syria should step in to deal with the militant group. He softened the personal edge only slightly, remarking that Netanyahu gets a little excited sometimes. The friction played out against fresh reports of Israeli airstrikes near Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, which the IDF had not yet addressed.

At the center of the diplomacy is a 14-point memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, set to be physically signed on Friday. The text declares an immediate, permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, states that Iran shall not develop nuclear weapons, and leaves the fate of Iran’s enriched uranium to be addressed in a final deal to be concluded within 60 days. Trump has stressed that the document is not final, calling it a memorandum of understanding while insisting Washington’s military threat against Iran remains in place should Tehran misbehave.

The president and Vice President JD Vance both pushed back hard on suggestions that the United States would funnel payments to Iran as part of the arrangement, with Trump dismissing the idea of investments as a ridiculous rumor. Notably, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and acting national security adviser Marco Rubio reportedly told Trump they doubted Iran would actually agree to the nuclear steps Washington was seeking.

In Israel, the reaction has been wary and at times bitter. Times of Israel editor David Horovitz characterized the emerging deal as a catastrophic capitulation that leaves Israel vulnerable and constrained. The unease reflects a deeper anxiety in Jerusalem that a fast-moving American-Iranian understanding could lock Israel into limits it did not negotiate.

Amid the turbulence, Netanyahu turned to the machinery of state security, holding his first working meeting with newly appointed Mossad chief Roman Gofman at the agency’s headquarters. The coming days, culminating in Friday’s signing ceremony, will test whether the US-Iran framework holds and how far the strain between Washington and Jerusalem will widen.

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