US President Donald Trump has admitted to calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “crazy” in a profanity-filled telephone call regarding the military campaign in Lebanon.
In a Wednesday broadcast of the “Pod Force One” podcast, Trump confirmed he had used expletives to describe the Israeli leader, reports Reuters.
He explained that he was “perturbed” by Netanyahu’s persistent fighting with Lebanon at a time when United States was attempting to broker an end to the broader conflict with Iran.
Reports suggested Trump told Netanyahu he was “fucking crazy” and claimed the prime minister would be “in prison” were it not for his support. Trump also reportedly told Netanyahu that “everybody hates Israel” because of the ongoing situation.
However, Netanyahu sought to minimise the discord during a CNBC interview on Wednesday, describing the tensions as “tactical disagreements” typical of “the best of families”.
Characterising Trump as the “greatest friend” Israel has ever seen in the White House, Netanyahu maintained that the two leaders continue to respect one another and find ways to resolve their differences.
The diplomatic friction follows a regional war initiated by Trump and Netanyahu in late February.
This escalated in March when Israel invaded Lebanon to target the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, which had been launching cross-border attacks in solidarity with Tehran.
Iran has since stated it will not agree to a peace deal with the US unless a ceasefire is also implemented in Lebanon.
Despite a US-mediated arrangement on Monday – whereby Israel eased attacks on southern Beirut and Hezbollah paused cross-border strikes – violence has persisted.
On Wednesday, Lebanese security sources reported that Israeli drone strikes killed at least six people in southern Lebanon, while a vehicle was targeted south of Beirut. Israel also reported the interception of a “hostile aircraft” likely launched by Hezbollah.
Trump dismissed suggestions that he had been “tricked” into the conflict with Iran, asserting that he personally initiated it to ensure Tehran never obtains a nuclear weapon. “If there wasn’t me, there would be no Israel right now,” he claimed.
The President further defended his 2018 withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear programme accord reached under the Obama administration. Although Trump is now demanding that Iran surrender its stockpiles of near-weapons-grade uranium, his critics argue that his exit from the deal has left Tehran closer to developing a nuclear weapon and made future negotiations more difficult.
Trump has a history of using coarse language regarding the region, previously remarking that both Israel and Iran “don’t know what the fuck they are doing”.
