Washington DC - President Donald Trump called for more "surgical" strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon and said he is not demanding the conflict be included in a peace deal with Iran, in an interview broadcast Sunday.
"I'd like to see a more surgical attack on Hezbollah. I think it should be more surgical," Trump told NBC's Meet the Press, according to a transcript of the interview recorded Friday.
"I'd like to see Lebanon have a better life," he added.
Israel carried out strikes on Sunday on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, saying it was retaliating for attacks targeting its territory despite a ceasefire that has not stopped the cycle of violence.
Asked whether he was demanding that Lebanon be included in the Iran deal, Trump replied: "No, no."
"Not at all. I'm not demanding," he said. "I think they'd like to see it, but I'm not demanding."
Trump has said previously he would like to "separate" the discussions on Lebanon from the negotiations on an agreement with Iran, while Tehran, on the contrary, wants to link the two conflicts.
Trump confirmed in an interview last week with The New York Post that he had a tense phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during which he reportedly reprimanded his close ally about the Israeli offensive in Lebanon.