Former National Security Council chief of staff Fred Fleitz on Sunday praised President Donald Trump's warning to Iran over Hezbollah, telling Newsmax the president made clear that Tehran, not Israel, bears responsibility for escalating violence in Lebanon.
Speaking on "Sunday Report," Fleitz pointed to Trump's Truth Social post earlier Sunday as the most important development in the tensions involving Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran.
In the post, Trump warned that "Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don't, we'll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!"
"I think the most significant thing we've seen in this conflict was that Truth Social post from Trump you read earlier, that if Iran does not rein in their terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, the U.S. will continue the war," Fleitz said. "I'm glad to hear the president say that."
Trump's comments came amid renewed fighting in southern Lebanon, where Israel has bombed Hezbollah positions.
The violence has sparked criticism of Israel from Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who have accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of jeopardizing a U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding by letting military operations continue.
Fleitz rejected claims that Israel was responsible for undermining efforts to reduce tensions.
"The issue here isn't Israel compromising this peace deal by attacking Lebanon," he said. "Israel is responding to Hezbollah attacks."
Fleitz said Trump's latest remarks clarified where responsibility lies for ending the violence.
"I think the president clarified this situation, that the ball is in Iran's court to stop the violence in Lebanon, and we have to stop blaming Israel," he said.
Earlier in the interview, Fleitz also dismissed claims by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed in response to alleged Israeli violations of a ceasefire arrangement in Lebanon.
"The strait is not closed. This is propaganda by the IRGC," Fleitz said. "They're trying to make trouble."
Asked whether Netanyahu was deliberately undermining Trump's diplomatic efforts with Iran, Fleitz said he did not believe so and argued Trump's Truth Social post demonstrated his broader position on the conflict.
"Of course not," Fleitz said. "I think the president clarified where he really is on that when he blamed Iran for the violence in Lebanon right now."
He also downplayed concerns about tensions between Trump and Netanyahu.
"We know that this is a long-standing friendship between Netanyahu and Trump, the U.S. and Israel," Fleitz said. "That friendship is not going anywhere. It's rock-solid. Sometimes friends disagree."
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