US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (local US time) that he was not angry with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he called him “f–king crazy” during a Monday phone call.
“I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon,” Trump said in an exclusive “Pod Force One” interview with The New York Post, without saying a firm yes or no when asked if he truly called Netanyahu “crazy.”
"At some point, I said, 'Bibi, we need to stop this'…We’ve worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,” Trump insisted after confirming his fiery outburst demanding that Netanyahu hold fire.
The Israeli attacks in Lebanon have hampered the US-Iran peace talks due to Tehran’s insistence that the Israeli targeting of Hezbollah cease before a deal is reached to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Axios reported on Monday, citing sources, that President Trump had lashed out at Netanyahu over Israel's escalation in Lebanon in an expletive-laden call on Monday.
As Iran threatened to abandon the negotiations with the US over Israel's actions in Lebanon, Trump called Netanyahu "crazy" over the phone and accused him of ingratitude, according to two of the sources. He also put the brakes on Israel's plan to strike Beirut.
Summarising Trump's remarks to Netanyahu, a US official told Axios: "You're f*ck**g crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your a**. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this."
Two of the sources said Trump claimed he'd helped keep Netanyahu out of jail — a reference to his support during Netanyahu's corruption trial.
A second source briefed on the call said Trump was "pissed" and at one point "yelled" at Netanyahu: "What the fuck are you doing?"
Lebanon has emerged as a focal point of the regional crisis this week, with the risk of further escalation looming over efforts to seal a deal between Iran and the United States. Tehran insists Israel halt Lebanon attacks under any agreement.
Netanyahu said on Wednesday he and Trump share the goal to disarm Hezbollah and demilitarise Lebanon, news agency AFP reported.
Lebanese security sources said Israeli drone strikes hit at least 10 vehicles on Wednesday, including one that hit a car on the main coastal highway in the Khalde area, several km (miles) south of Beirut, wounding two people.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military said it had intercepted rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel, while Lebanese security sources said an Israeli strike hit a car near Beirut, testing a US-mediated deal that aims to get the sides to curb attacks.
Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement it had fired a rocket salvo at an Israeli troop position in northern Israel, the first time it had announced a cross-border missile attack since Monday.
Hostilities have continued in southern Lebanon since the U.S.-mediated agreement was announced on Monday, when President Donald Trump said he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to carry out a major raid on Beirut, and that Hezbollah, through intermediaries, had pledged not to attack Israel.
(With inputs from agencies)
