Fox Reporter Notes ‘No Sitting President’ Has Ever Spoken With Hezbollah — Amid Trump’s Claim

Fox Business Network host Larry Kudlow spoke to Fox News foreign correspondent Lucas Tomlinson on Monday, following President Donald Trump’s claim he spoke to Hezbollah leaders and convinced both them and Israel to stop exchanging fire across the Israel-Lebanon border.

“The president putting it on Truth Social that he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then through intermediaries, leaders of Hezbollah, the president posting, quote: ‘I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu of Israel, and there will be no troops going to Beirut, and any troops that are on their way have already been turned back. Likewise, through very highly placed representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop, that Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel,’” began Tomlinson, adding:

Late last night, U.S. Central Command says American forces shot down two Iranian ballistic missiles heading to a base in Kuwait housing U.S. troops. It’s the second attack on Kuwait in recent days, Larry. The latest missile attack took place one day after U.S. forces disabled another ship trying to run the blockade and sail to an Iranian port. Iranian forces also shot down an American Predator drone over the weekend, drawing a counterattack by U.S. forces.

Now, many have said these types of attacks over the weekend are proof, Larry, that the ceasefire is not holding — perhaps your next guest agrees. Of course, President Trump speaking to leaders of Hezbollah through intermediaries is very rare. Of course, no sitting president has ever spoken directly with the leaders of Hezbollah since they took power.

But these attacks — some people would like to see a more muscular response, Larry. For every ship attacked going through the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military would then attack an oil refinery in a tit-for-tat, Larry. So we’ll see.

Kudlow added, “Lucas, thank you for that wrap-up. It sounds like — you know, and I try to listen to you and I’m reading what I can read — it just sounds like we’re… there’s no deadline right now. They’re talking, they’re not talking, the red lines aren’t changing. And we can go on like this with an economic blockade standing behind it. The embargo continues, you know, drilling their economy into the ground. I mean, that seems like the state of play right now. There’s no active portion, is what I’m saying.”

“It sure does, Larry. Recall President Trump just last month — a few weeks ago — said that there is no deadline for these talks. He told Fox’s Laura Trump, his daughter-in-law, that he’s in no hurry for an agreement. And he spoke earlier to another news outlet saying that some of these talks are making him bored, and perhaps he wants to sit back and see this economic blockade strangle Iran. But some others — including, I think, your next guest — would like to see a more forceful response, especially when you’re launching ballistic missiles at Kuwait where U.S. forces are based. And that’s, of course, where the HIMARS were launched during the Iranian attacks a couple months ago.” Tomlinson replied.

“Yes, well, it’s an uneasy ceasefire, to say the least. Lucas Tomlinson, thank you — Tomlinson, thank you ever so much on the White House lawn. We appreciate it,” Kudlow concluded.

Axios’s Barak Ravid later reported that Netanyahu told him that Israel would continue to attack if Hezbollah did not stop its attacks. “Netanyahu: I spoke with President Trump this evening and told him that if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our cities and citizens, Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut. Our position remains the same. At the same time, the IDF will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon,” Ravid reported.

Watch the clip above via Fox Business.

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