Trump says he talked to Syrian leader about taking on Hezbollah

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had spoken to Syria's leader about combatting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, a day after criticizing Israel for killing too many civilians ​and not getting the job done, Reuters reported.

Asked at a Group of Seven summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, ‌if he had talked to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa about Hezbollah, Trump nodded and said "yes." Asked if Sharaa was willing to take on the Shi'ite armed group, Trump said he would talk about that later.

The remark came after Trump criticized Israel's ​tactics in fighting Hezbollah while praising Sharaa, who took power in Syria in 2025 after years ​of civil war and has moved cautiously since U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in late ⁠February.

"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 on Tuesday on the sidelines of ​the summit.

Trump has strongly backed Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander who toppled long-ruling autocrat Bashar al-Assad and has sought to portray himself as a moderate leader trying to unify his war-ravaged nation and end its isolation.

"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 on Tuesday.