U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly launched a sharp verbal attack on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call on Monday over Israel’s escalating military operations in Lebanon.
According to a report by Axios, citing two U.S. officials and another source familiar with the conversation, Trump allegedly called Netanyahu “crazy” and accused him of being ungrateful, while also reportedly blocking an Israeli plan to strike Beirut.
The call took place just hours after Iran warned that continued Israeli military actions in Lebanon could jeopardize ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
According to the sources, Trump claimed he had played a decisive role in Netanyahu’s political survival, referring to the support he had offered during the Israeli leader’s legal battles over corruption allegations.
One U.S. official quoted Trump as telling Netanyahu:
“You’ve completely lost your mind. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m trying to save your skin. Now everyone hates you. Everyone hates Israel because of this.”
Another source said Trump was “furious” and at one point shouted:
“What the hell are you doing?”
Concerns Over International Isolation
According to a U.S. official, Trump acknowledged that Hezbollah had continued launching attacks against Israel and that Israel had the right to defend itself. However, he reportedly believed Netanyahu had escalated military operations disproportionately in recent days.
Washington is said to have expressed particular concern over threats to bomb Beirut and the expansion of Israeli ground operations in southern Lebanon.
U.S. officials also reportedly raised concerns about the growing civilian death toll and strikes on residential buildings targeting individual Hezbollah commanders.
Beirut Strike Plan Reportedly Shelved
An Israeli official told Axios that Israel no longer plans to strike Hezbollah targets in Beirut.
However, Netanyahu stated publicly after the call that he had informed Trump that Israel would launch attacks on the Lebanese capital if Hezbollah failed to halt attacks on Israeli targets.
“Our position remains unchanged,” Netanyahu said.
Nevertheless, according to a second U.S. official, Trump effectively “imposed his position” during the conversation. Netanyahu allegedly responded in the end:
“Okay, okay, just make sure everything gets resolved.”
