President Donald Trump has lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call on Monday, calling him “crazy” and warning that strikes on Beirut would further isolate Israel, a media report has claimed.
Trump also said that he had kept Netanyahu out of prison, a reference to his support during the prime minister’s corruption trial. One US official summarised Trump as telling Netanyahu: “You’re fcking crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.” At another point, Trump yelled: “What the fck are you doing?”
The call came after Iran threatened to abandon nuclear negotiations with Washington DC over Israel’s actions in Lebanon. Trump went along with Israel’s claims that Hezbollah had been firing at Israel and that Israel had the right to defend itself, but felt Netanyahu’s recent moves expanding ground operations in southern Lebanon and threatening strikes on Beirut were disproportionate and risking the Iran talks.
One official noted it was among the worst calls between the two since Trump returned to office.
Following the conversation, Israel dropped its plans to strike Hezbollah targets in Beirut. A second US official said that Trump had “steamrolled” Netanyahu, with the prime minister conceding: “OK, OK, just make sure everything is taken care of”.
Netanyahu, in a statement published after the call, maintained that Israel would strike Beirut if Hezbollah did not stop its attacks, and that illegal operations in southern Lebanon would continue. “Our position remains the same,” he wrote.
After the call, Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran negotiations were “continuing, at a rapid pace”. The memorandum being negotiated between Washington DC and Tehran reportedly calls for an end to the fighting in Lebanon as well.
