By Bhargav Acharya and Katharine Jackson
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said the United States has barred Israel from further bombing in Lebanon, striking an unusually harsh tone with the longtime U.S. ally while stressing that any U.S. deal with Iran is not linked to the Lebanon conflict.
“Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!” Trump said in a social media post.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to Trump’s remarks, but Netanyahu said in a statement earlier that Israeli forces remained stationed in southern Lebanon to defend against “the near threat.”
“There are things we plan to do regarding the remaining rocket threat and the drone threat, which I will not detail here,” Netanyahu said.
A U.S.-backed Israeli-Lebanese ceasefire took effect at 2100 GMT on Thursday, halting fighting that flared on March 2 when Hezbollah fired on northern Israel in support of Iran’s fight with the U.S. and Israel, drawing an Israeli offensive that Lebanese authorities say has killed 2,000 people.
U.S. NAVAL BLOCKADE ON IRAN REMAINS IN PLACE
In a series of social media posts after Iran announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels, Trump emphasized that any deal the United States reaches with Iran “is in no way subject to Lebanon” and said the U.S. will handle the militant group Hezbollah in an appropriate manner.
“Again! This deal is not tied, in any way, to Lebanon, but we will, MAKE LEBANON GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote in a later post.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi specified the Strait of Hormuz was open for the remainder of the 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon.
However, Trump later posted: “Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again. It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World!”
The U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, which started on February 28, had effectively closed the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually transits.
After 38 days of fighting, a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war came into effect on April 8. The United States then began enforcing a blockade on vessels entering and departing Iran on Monday.
“The naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete,” Trump wrote in an all capital letters.
TRUMP SAYS HE REBUFFED NATO OFFER OF HELP
Trump said he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come “soon” because most of the points are already negotiated, although the timing remains unclear. Trump reiterated that the U.S. will get nuclear material from Iran, adding: “No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form.”
Trump, who in 2018 pulled the U.S. out of a 2015 nuclear accord curtailing Iran’s nuclear work, has said a primary reason for the war was to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
Iran says its enrichment of uranium – a process that produces fuel for power plants and nuclear warheads depending on its duration – is strictly for peaceful civilian use.
The U.S. president said on Friday that he had rebuffed an offer from NATO to help and told them to stay away unless they want to load up ships with oil.
“They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!” Trump wrote on Truth Social before turning his attention to thanking Gulf allies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
NATO allies said on Monday they would not get involved in Trump’s plan to blockade Iranian ports, proposing to intervene only once fighting ends.
The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire deal does not require Israel to withdraw from south Lebanon. Israeli defense officials say troops are holding positions inside Lebanon as part of a “buffer zone” to prevent Hezbollah attacks on Israel.
(Reporting by Katharine Jackson and Bhargav Acharya, writing by Doina Chiacu, editing by Michelle Nichols and Howard Goller)
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