Iran & Middle East — 2026-07-14

Trump Tells Netanyahu to Redeploy Israeli Forces Out of Syria and Lebanon

BLUFWashington's escalation from tactical restraint to full redeployment demands signals a policy shift, but absent follow-through leverage, Netanyahu can absorb the pressure through pre-election inaction.

President Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call last Thursday that Israel should begin redeploying forces out of Syria and urged him to do the same in Lebanon, according to unnamed US and Israeli officials cited by Axios 1234. A US official quoted Trump telling Netanyahu "they don't want you there" and that he should redeploy, warning that Israel's military presence in Syria creates tension and risks escalation, with the same message applied to Lebanon 1. The Israeli prime minister's office said Netanyahu raised the need for security zones along Israel's borders during the call, held a day after Trump met Syria's Ahmad al-Sharaa at the NATO summit in Turkey 1. Axios reported that Netanyahu, three months from an election he views as existential to his political survival and personal freedom, is unlikely to make significant withdrawals from Syria or further redeployments in Lebanon beyond what he has already agreed to, as senior Israeli officials seek indefinite control of the areas and some push for Jewish settlements there 1. IDF sources told the Jerusalem Post the report surprised them; they had no knowledge of the call, and there was no change on the ground 4.

Analysis
Trump's ask broadens Washington's line from tactical restraint during the Lebanon ceasefire to full IDF redeployment out of both Syrian and Lebanese territory, delivered a day after his NATO summit meeting with al-Sharaa, tying pressure on Israel to the administration's normalization track with Damascus. Netanyahu's office countered by citing border security zones rather than withdrawal, and an election three months out raises the political cost of visible concessions in Syria or acceleration beyond the Lebanon pilot-zone commitments already made. IDF sources' surprise at the report suggests no operational orders have followed, and the exchange may have been informal or exploratory rather than a directive the military has been told to execute. Confidence is moderate given single-source Axios sourcing corroborated only by IDF denial, not independent confirmation of the call's substance.

4 sources

Scoop: Trump tells Netanyahu to move forces out of Syria and Lebanon - Axios
Trump tells Netanyahu to begin withdrawal from Syria and Lebanon: 'They don't want you there' - Ynetnews
Report: Trump pressed Netanyahu to pull out of Syria, Lebanon - Israel National News
'They don't want you there': Trump tells Netanyahu to pull IDF troops from Syria, Lebanon - report - The Jerusalem Post