Trump issues MAJOR 'curveball' on Israel's targeting of Hezbollah

[0:00] Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. And it says it loud and clear. They're not going to develop it. They're not going to buy it. They're not going to do anything with it. And if they do, they suffer unbelievable consequences. Not just a little bit like, I won't even tell you the consequences, but the consequences are the ultimate consequences. And with that being said, I hope we have a very good relationship. [0:28] So moments ago, President Trump doubling down on his deal with Iran as he meets with Middle East leaders right now at the high stakes G7 summit. Former ambassador at large and counterterrorism coordinator Nathan Sell served in the State Department in President Trump's first term. And he joins us now. Nathan, thanks so much for joining the program. Great to see you, Lawrence. Thanks for having me. Of course. So we're starting to get, you know, I don't know if we want to call them leaks or some type of sense of what's going to be in the deal. [1:01] I think it's important that we see the full thing because there are some parts that are totally reasonable and the president is checking Iran. But there's some elements that folks have concerns of when it comes to the billions of dollars that they're going to get, not from the United States, but from the Qataris and the Gulf States. What do you make of the full deal? [1:23] It's a great question, Lawrence. I agree with you. The sooner we can see the fine prints on this deal, the better. There's a lot of spin coming out of Tehran right now. [1:34] And it's hard for us as the American people to discern what is completely exaggerated and what might have a grain of truth to it. So the sooner we can see the details, the better. [1:46] But I want to bring back something the president just said ahead of me. This is very important. Enforcement. How do we know that the Iranians are complying with their commitments under the deal? [1:57] And what are the consequences for them if they do what, let's be clear, they always do, lie and cheat and evade? [2:04] And the president was very clear that there will be ultimate consequences. And that's really important because American diplomacy is always most powerful when it is backed by a credible threat of force, whether military force, economic force, or using other tools of statecraft. [2:20] And it's important that the president is keeping that on the table to show the Iranians they're not going to be able to lie and cheat their way out of this. [2:27] Nathan, I'm so glad that you brought that up because when people panic, and I would admit, I have concerns about the document as well, at least what I've heard about the document. [2:38] But what ultimately matters is what the president is going to do and what he's going to respond to. [2:44] And I think it's clear that he has red lines when it comes to that. [2:48] One of the things that continues to be a problem is Hezbollah and what they're doing. [2:53] It's not Lebanon. It's Hezbollah. And Israel has a right to respond to them. [2:57] And this is what the president said regarding that in Syria. Let's play it. [3:02] But I think that Syria, you know, he's pulled that country together amazingly quickly. [3:08] He's very capable. And he's been very good for me. [3:11] He's protected everything that I've asked for. He's done. [3:15] And if Israel can't do the job without killing everyone else, he'll do the job. Syria will do the job. [3:24] So, Nathan, I thought this was crafty from the president. [3:27] Because you've got the Gulf states, Muslims countries, Arab countries that get a little perturbed. [3:32] Even though they know that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, they don't want Israel being so aggressive. [3:37] So he throws them a curveball. Okay, Syria, let's let Syria deal with Hezbollah then. [3:43] If you don't want Israel doing it, why don't you guys police them? [3:48] Yeah, that's a bit of a curveball, Lawrence. I didn't see that one coming. [3:52] Let's take a step back and look at the big picture here. [3:54] You're exactly right. Israel is not at war with Lebanon. [3:57] Israel is at war with Hezbollah, which itself is a threat to Lebanon. [4:02] Hezbollah has killed hundreds of Lebanese, is responsible for the death of so many people over the years. [4:07] And it's not just a threat to Israel. It's also a threat to the United States. [4:11] People forget that before 9-11, before al-Qaeda committed the 9-11 atrocities, Hezbollah was responsible for as many American deaths as almost any other terrorist organization in the world. [4:22] So the American people have an interest in Hezbollah being weakened and degraded. [4:28] Now, the question becomes, who is the most effective fighting force that's capable of doing that? [4:33] I'm not sure, frankly, that Syria, which is still getting back up on its feet after a decade-long civil war and the brutality of the Assad dictatorship and the ISIS insurgency, [4:44] I'm not sure that Syria has the same capabilities to take the fight to this terror group that Israel does. [4:49] So the more people aligned against Hezbollah, the better. [4:53] But let's also keep in mind, Israel's been doing this for several decades. [4:56] They know how to play this game. [4:58] Such a good point. [4:59] And I just want to break in right now so the audience knows what's happening. [5:01] And this is the president right now at the G7 with this working lunch. [5:06] The moment we get some sound of this, we'll go to it. [5:10] But right now, we're not hearing anything. [5:12] Our producers will give me the cue. [5:15] What does the president need to exert here? [5:17] Because some of these leaders have not had our backs when it comes to this conflict with Iran, Nathan. [5:23] I think the G7 nations need to hear from the United States that we want real allies. [5:31] And that means two things. [5:32] First of all, it means investing in their own defensive capabilities. [5:35] We've heard a lot about NATO members investing up to 5% of their gross domestic product in their military and defense-related capabilities. [5:43] Great. [5:44] But the second thing we need is once you invest, you actually have to be able to put those cards on the table. [5:50] Now, that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to join the United States in every military conflict that we face, every military mission that we undertake. [5:57] But we want to have you in our corner. [6:00] And we haven't really heard that same level of commitment to the alliance that we would like to hear. [6:05] So I think the president is probably going to be delivering a tough love message to these allies. [6:10] We need you to have capabilities because we need you to be real allies. [6:14] And real allies are there with you when you need them. [6:17] Well, and to that point of capabilities, you know, they want to get involved now that the president is ending the conflict. [6:25] I mean, they needed the straight more than we did. [6:27] I mean, it's not like most of our oil supply is coming from the straight, yet they were nowhere to be found. [6:36] Yeah, Lawrence, it's regrettable. [6:38] We have skin in the game. [6:40] It's a global energy market. [6:42] The nitrogen market is global. [6:46] Insurance, sorry, insurance rates are affected by what happens there. [6:49] But our Asian allies and our European allies had a lot more on the line. [6:54] Now, I guess I'd say better late than never. [6:56] It would have been nice to have France and the U.K. a couple of months ago when it really mattered. [7:01] But let's not discount the importance of their involvement in keeping the straight open going forward. [7:06] If they have a couple of warships there in the Gulf along with us, that really does send a powerful message to the Iranians. [7:12] Don't try anything because we've got real capabilities and real assets across the alliance that are prepared to take action when necessary. [7:19] Nathan, it has been reported that this deal would end all sanctions, and not just the sanctions, it would end all waivers as well. [7:30] What do you make of that portion? [7:34] Yeah, well, the devil is always in the details. [7:36] So I'd like to see the text of the MOU. [7:38] And frankly, I suspect the MOU may not go into a whole lot of detail about these finer points of sanctions relief. [7:44] That may be subject to negotiation in the weeks and months going forward. [7:49] I think here's what I would say. [7:51] We need to make sure that whatever sanctions come off, they are limited to the nuclear program, and it's pay for play. [7:58] The Iranians don't get any sanctions relief until they actually demonstrate that they are upholding their end of the bargain. [8:05] We're not going to trade sanctions relief in exchange for their agreement to talk. [8:09] We should only exchange sanctions relief in exchange for their demonstrated and irreversible commitment to end their nuclear program. [8:16] That's the first point I'd make. [8:18] Lawrence, the second thing is Iran is subject to a massive swath of different kinds of sanctions, [8:23] not just related to their nuclear weapons ambitions, but human rights, counterterrorism, ballistic missiles. [8:29] Unless they're prepared to change their behavior on those issues, those sanctions need to stay in place. [8:35] I think that's critical considering last week we heard that they're going to resume all these trials against their people, [8:41] these kids that are rising up after there was a bloodbath of over 30,000 people. [8:46] So we'll be following that. [8:47] Nathan Seals, thank you so much. [8:50] Thank you, Lawrence. [8:51] Be sure to like and subscribe for all the Fox News latest on YouTube [8:56] and catch full shows streaming now on Fox 1.