Donald Trump Image by Getty Images

(JTA) — Donald Trump has called the Iran deal “terrible” in recent months. But in an interview on Thursday, the current Republican frontrunner revealed some gaps in his knowledge of the Middle East.

Trump spoke with Hugh Hewitt, a popular conservative radio host, who asked the real estate mogul some “commander-in-chief questions” about the region.

When asked about the two militant groups, Trump said the difference between Hamas and Hezbollah does not matter to him yet.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“[The difference] will [matter] when it’s appropriate,” Trump said. “I will know more about it than you know, and believe me, it won’t take long.”

Hamas is a Palestinian Islamist organization based in the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah is a Shiite Islamist militant group and political party based in Lebanon. Both are avowedly committed to Israel’s destruction.

Earlier in the interview, Trump confused the Quds force, an Iranian military group, with the Kurds, a Middle Eastern ethnic group. He thought Hewitt had implied that General Qassim Suleimani, the head of the Quds force, was a Kurdish leader.

“Oh, I thought you said Kurds, Kurds,” Trump said.

Next, Trump acknowledged not knowing who terrorist leaders Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah, Ayman al-Zawahiri of Al Qaeda, Abu Mohammed al-Julani of al-Nusra Front or Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of ISIS were.

“Do you know the players without a scorecard yet, Donald Trump?” Hewitt asked.

“No, you know, I’ll tell you honestly, I think by the time we get to office, they’ll all be changed … You know, those are like history questions. Do you know this one, do you know that one,” Trump said.

When elaborating on the Iran deal, Trump said that a clause of the nuclear agreement could force the United States, a steadfast ally of Israel, to attack the Jewish state and defend Iran.

“But do you know there’s a clause there that in theory, we’re supposed to help [Iran] fight Israel?” Trump said.

Earlier in the day, Trump signed a pledge vowing not to run as a third party Independent if he does not receive the Republican nomination for president.

In the meantime, it looks like he’ll have to do some brushing up on his foreign policy facts.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount