Netanayahu’s been ‘a great partner’, says Trump – as it happened

This blog is now closed. See our full report on the latest Middle East news Donald Trump continued his remarks on Wednesday by calling Israel and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, “a great partner”. “Israel, hey look, they’ve been a great partner. Bibi Netanyahu’s been, for me, a great partner. For other people, not so good. For me, he’s been very good,” Trump said. “We were very effective, what we’ve done. They needed us. They couldn’t have done it without us, couldn’t even come close. They needed us and they got us to help them with a real problem because Iran was a real problem, a big problem, a worldwide problem. They wouldn’t have stopped with Israel. They would have blown up the Middle East.” We’re about to shut this live page but will continue our round-the-clock coverage of the Middle East crisis. You can read our new full report here: Israel and Lebanon agree to renew ceasefire as Trump seeks to overcome barriers to Iran deal. And here’s a recap of the day’s key news lines – thanks for joining us. Israel and Lebanon have agreed to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon f