Key takeaways:
- Trump confirmed he called Netanyahu “crazy” and used an expletive during a call over Israel’s planned strikes on Beirut.
- Netanyahu said his relationship with Trump remains strong and described their differences as “tactical disagreements.”
- Israel held off on airstrikes against Beirut but has continued ground operations and airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
President Donald Trump confirmed he used harsh language in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week, a conversation that halted planned Israeli airstrikes on Beirut and exposed tensions between the two leaders over Israel’s military operations in Lebanon.
Trump acknowledged the remarks when asked by conservative writer Miranda Devine on her podcast, Pod Force One, after Axios first reported the call. He said he had called Netanyahu “crazy” and used an expletive during the exchange.
“I did. I wouldn’t say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon. You know, at some point I said, ‘Bibi we got to stop this. We got to stop it,’” Trump said.
Netanyahu rejected the idea that his relationship with Trump had deteriorated. Asked Wednesday by CNBC whether ties had shifted, he said: “No, this has been this has been a great relationship because he’s been the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House.”
“We have common goals. Sometimes, we have, as in the best of families, you have these tactical disagreements,” Netanyahu said. “We always find a way to work them out, and we do so as great friends. We can disagree in the morning, and by the afternoon, we have common action.”
The call came after Netanyahu ordered a major military operation in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah, saying it was a response to Hezbollah fire on communities in northern Israel. At Israel’s northern border last Friday, Netanyahu told troops to “keep striking Hezbollah relentlessly” and to “keep going with great success until the mission is complete.”
On Monday, Netanyahu said Israel would carry out airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where many of the group’s leaders are based. The announcement sent many Lebanese residents fleeing by car, causing major traffic jams. Israel later held off on striking Beirut, though it has continued ground operations and airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
Israel and Hezbollah are officially supposed to be observing a truce that is part of the broader ceasefire in the Iran war. Iran responded to Israel’s operation by saying it would stop indirect negotiations with the United States. Al Jazeera reported that Tehran has suggested it may respond militarily to Israel’s assault in Lebanon.
Trump said Monday he spoke to Netanyahu and a representative from Hezbollah, and that both sides agreed to hold fire, according to Al Jazeera. Fighting has continued in southern Lebanon.
Despite the disagreement, Trump emphasized that he still works well with Netanyahu. “I like Bibi a lot and I’ve worked very well with him,” Trump said. “I’m a wartime president. He’s a wartime prime minister.”
Netanyahu said he and Trump remain aligned on Lebanon and share the goal of disarming Hezbollah. “I think he understands that Lebanon has been taken hostage by Hezbollah,” Netanyahu told CNBC. “If we want to save Lebanon and if we want to get a Lebanese-Israeli peace, as I do, we have to disarm Hezbollah, and we have to demilitarise Lebanon. I know that this is a goal that the president and I share.”
Hezbollah, which is allied with Iran, says it is fighting Israel’s aims to expand into Lebanon and ethnically cleanse the south of the country, Al Jazeera reported. The group says its fighting is legitimate under the United Nations Charter’s right to self-defense.
Inside Israel, Netanyahu has faced criticism from media figures and politicians who say he has been too weak to stand up to Trump. Critics say Trump has forced Israel to accept three ceasefires it opposed — in Gaza, Iran and now Lebanon. Maariv columnist Ben Caspit wrote, “The truth needs to be said: Israeli policy is dictated by Trump’s social media posts.”
Trump and Netanyahu coordinated closely to launch the Iran war three months ago and broadly shared goals that included toppling Iran’s Islamic government and dismantling its nuclear program. NPR reported that Trump is now focused on a deal involving compromises with Iran, while Netanyahu has favored maintaining military pressure to weaken Iran’s government and military as much as possible.
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