Trump Calls Netanyahu “Crazy” After Netanyahu Orders Beirut Bombing, Halting Strikes

President Donald Trump confirmed that he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “crazy” during a heated phone call that, according to Trump, halted planned Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon’s capital Beirut.

“Trump cursed at Netanyahu in call over Lebanon escalation, sources say Trump accused Netanyahu of being ungrateful, sources said”

ABC News

Trump told the “Pod Force One” podcast, “I did,” when asked whether he had called Netanyahu “effing crazy,” and he said he was “a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon.”

ABC News

The call came after Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to resume bombing the southern Dahiya area of Beirut to target Hezbollah, and the Israel Defense Forces told Lebanese civilians to evacuate areas of southern Beirut, causing thousands of people to flee.

Axios and ABC News reported that Trump asked Netanyahu, “What the f--- are you doing?” during the roughly 15-minute call, while NPR reported Trump said the call helped keep Netanyahu from carrying out airstrikes on Beirut “at least for now.”

Netanyahu told CNBC that “Sometimes we have, as in the best of families, you have these tactical disagreements,” and he said, “We always find a way to work them out, and we do so as great friends.”

In contrast, the Guardian reported a US official’s summary of Trump’s remarks to Netanyahu, including “You’re fucking crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass.”

Al Jazeera

ABC News reported that Netanyahu released a statement saying, “if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our cities and citizens, Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut,” while also saying, “the IDF will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon.”

The Guardian added that Channel 12 contested details of the call, with Amit Segal saying Trump had not attacked Netanyahu personally and that the two had agreed he would refrain from attacking the Beirut suburbs if Hezbollah ceased its attacks on Israel.

The dispute over Lebanon unfolded as Trump pushed for progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations, with Time reporting Trump insisted, “Fake news reports that the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the U.S.A., stopped speaking a few days ago are false and erroneous.”

“On the heels of Trump's 'rebuke' of Netanyahu, Israel threatens Iran with an immediate return to war”

Anadolu Ajansi

Time also quoted Trump saying, “it’s time, one way or another, for you to make a deal,” and it reported Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress that Iran had “agreed” to negotiate aspects of its nuclear program.

Iranian officials linked the Lebanon escalation to the broader talks, with ABC News citing Abbas Araghchi’s post that “a ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

The Guardian reported that Iran said on Tuesday it would suspend peace talks with the US over Israel’s ongoing campaign in southern Lebanon, and it described the phone call as coming after Netanyahu ordered renewed bombing of Beirut’s southern suburbs to target Hezbollah.