JERUSALEM / Saeed Amouri / Anadolu

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Saturday that Syria's intervention in Lebanon "is not something the Lebanese or Israelis want," contradicting his boss Donald Trump's view.

The official broadcasting authority quoted Huckabee as saying that "Syria's intervention in Lebanon is not something the Lebanese and Israelis want."

He added: "The best option is for the Lebanese army to take control of the south of the country."

On June 16, Trump said in press remarks on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France: "I am not happy with the way Israel handled Lebanon and Hezbollah. They should have been able to get the job done faster."

Trump added: "If Israel cannot get the job done against Hezbollah without killing everyone, then (Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa) will take care of it. Syria will do the job."

Huckabee claimed that Israel does not wish to remain in Lebanon, but will not withdraw before ensuring calm on its northern border, according to his expression.

On June 26, Beirut and Tel Aviv signed, under U.S. auspices, a 'framework agreement' stipulating a gradual Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territory, starting from two primary areas not named in the agreement.

The sixth round of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations, under U.S. auspices, is scheduled to take place on July 14-15 in Rome.

Israel occupies areas in southern Lebanon and imposes what it calls a 'security zone' in the form of a buffer strip extending several kilometers inside Lebanese territory along the border, which it created during the last war with Hezbollah in 2024-2025.

Israel also expanded its presence in that area following the escalation of its military operations as of March 2, Lebanon considers this a violation of its sovereignty and occupation of parts of its southern territory.

On the other hand, Huckabee said that Israel warned the United States of a possible Iranian plot to assassinate President Trump.

On Friday, Israeli Channel 12 reported that Tel Aviv shared intelligence information with the United States regarding what it claimed was 'an Iranian plan to assassinate Trump.'

The channel (centrist liberal) explained that Tel Aviv's purpose in providing this alleged information is to 'warm relations' between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which have seen disagreement recently.

This comes amid rising tensions between Tehran and Washington since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran on February 28.

Since Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding on June 18, negotiations between them have continued with difficulty, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, to reach a final agreement.