US President Donald Trump sharply criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a tense phone call on Monday.
He told him that he should be grateful because he would have been in prison without his support, according to a report by Axios.
The heated exchange came after Iran threatened to suspend negotiations with the United States over Israel’s military actions in Lebanon, reports Jerusalem Post.
The development prompted Trump to contact Netanyahu, during which the US president reportedly became visibly angry.
At one point in the conversation, Trump yelled at Netanyahu, saying, “What the f*** are you doing?”
According to a US official cited by Axios, Trump believed Netanyahu was responding disproportionately to Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel.
He reportedly criticised Israel for demolishing buildings to eliminate a single Hezbollah commander and objected to Israeli threats directed at Beirut.
Another source familiar with the discussion told Axios that Trump expressed frustration over Israel’s international standing, summarising part of his remarks as: “everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.”
The report also said Trump accused Netanyahu of being ungrateful. According to the source, Trump claimed that the Israeli prime minister would have been in prison had it not been for his support.
Attacks on Beirut cancelled
Although Netanyahu issued a statement after the call insisting that Israel’s position “remains the same,” a US official told Axios that Trump had effectively “steamrolled” the Israeli leader during the conversation.
