President Trump responds to Israel’s refusal to withdraw from Lebanon, vows to “solve” the issue “fast,” while warning US will use force if Iran fails to uphold deal.By World Israel News StaffPresident Donald Trump said Monday he would review Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to withdraw Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, saying he could “solve problems fast, including with Bibi,” as Israeli and Lebanese officials opened another round of US-backed talks in Washington.Trump made the comment in the Oval Office while discussing the first round of renewed US-Iran talks and the regional ceasefire framework tied to them, including efforts to prevent renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.Asked about Netanyahu’s insistence that the IDF will not withdraw from Lebanon, Trump said, “We are going to take a look at it.”“I am a problem solver. I can solve problems real fast, including with Bibi.”The remark came after Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir issued a joint statement making clear that Israel’s military posture in southern Lebanon was not changing, despite the Washington negotiations and a US-backed deconfliction effort.“The IDF will continue to act with determination to thwart threats to our soldiers and citizens, to destroy terrorist infrastructure and to continue to maintain the security zone in southern Lebanon,” the statement said.The Washington talks are focused on Hezbollah’s disarmament, security arrangements in southern Lebanon and the possibility of moving toward a broader Israel-Lebanon agreement.Israel’s delegation is being led on the diplomatic track by Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, while Brig. Gen. Amichai Levin, head of the IDF Planning Directorate’s Strategic Division, is leading military discussions. Lebanon’s delegation is headed by Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Maawad and former ambassador Simon Karam.A US State Department official said Washington was trying to facilitate negotiations between the two governments. “We are enabling Israel and Lebanon to negotiate as two sovereign states and to find a way to have peace and security,” the official said.One proposal under discussion would see the Lebanese Armed Forces begin deploying to selected parts of southern Lebanon and dismantling Hezbollah military infrastructure in those areas.The central dispute is sequencing. Lebanon wants the pilot program to begin in areas currently held by Israeli forces, with the IDF withdrawing as the Lebanese Army moves in.Israel says the Lebanese military must first prove it can disarm Hezbollah in areas where Israeli troops are not present.Lebanon is also seeking a timetable for Israeli withdrawal. Reuters reported Tuesday that Beirut intends to press Israel to present a “reasonable” withdrawal schedule during the talks, while Israel is demanding Hezbollah’s disarmament and a more durable security arrangement.“There remains a fundamental problem of trust between us and the Israelis in these talks. We cannot fulfill their demands, and they reject all of ours,” a Lebanese official told Reuters.The diplomatic push comes as the Trump administration tries to stabilize a broader regional arrangement following an initial US-Iran memorandum that ended open fighting and reopened a 60-day window for talks on Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief.The memorandum also includes mechanisms intended to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and maintain a ceasefire across regional fronts, including Lebanon.Trump hinted that the US could use force against Iran if Tehran fails to uphold the agreement.“If Iran doesn’t live up to their agreement or they’re not behaving, I will do what I have to do.”“As long as they respect us – I don’t want to use the word ‘fear’ because it’s inappropriate – as long as they respect us, we’re not going to have any trouble. We have total control of the strait,” Trump continued.Vice President JD Vance said after the first round of talks in Switzerland that the sides had made progress on several fronts, including a mechanism to prevent the Strait of Hormuz from being closed and another to help preserve the regional ceasefire.“We feel great about that. We’re working with our allies from the Israelis to the Gulf Arabs to make sure that sticks,” Vance said.Vance also said Iran had agreed to allow nuclear inspectors back into the country. “We are going to bolster that inspection regimen to make sure they don’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said.But Vance cautioned that the administration did not view Iranian pledges as sufficient by themselves.“You can’t trust anybody’s words, you have to trust what they actually do,” he said. “Letting the inspectors in is a big deal, but again, we’re going to see what they actually let the inspectors do once they’re in the country. That’s going to continually be part of our negotiation. The President asked us to verify more of what they are doing and focus less on what they are saying.”Trump told reporters that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon outweighed economic concerns.“Nuclear weapon supersedes depression,” Trump said. “Depression is real bad. Nuclear weapon will cause depression much more quickly.”“We have two things: We have an open strait and we have a country that will never have a nuclear weapon,” he said.The post Trump: I get problems solve fast – including with Bibi appeared first on World Israel News.