Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Donald Trump lashed out at Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an expletive-laden phone call over Israel’s continued strikes in Lebanon on Monday, The Independent reports citing US media.
The US president was reportedly furious after Iran threatened to suspend peace talks with the US over Israel’s strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, telling the Israeli prime minister that “everybody hates Israel” because of his actions, the British news outlet says.
In his public remarks after the two leaders spoke, Mr Trump announced that a partial truce had been agreed between Israel and Hezbollah and that the call had been “very productive”, according to The Independent.
But behind closed doors Mr Trump is said to have yelled at Mr Netanyahu over the phone, calling him “f****** crazy”, Axios reported late on Monday, citing two unnamed US officials familiar with the call, the report says.
“You’re f****** crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this,” Mr Trump said, according to a US official’s summary of the remarks.
Another source who briefed Axios about the call said Mr Trump was “pissed” and at one point yelled at Mr Netanyahu: “What the f*** are you doing?”
Mr Trump’s intervention came after Israel expanded its ground operations in southern Lebanon. Israel and Hezbollah agreed a fragile ceasefire in mid April, but the militant group resumed attacks after Israeli strikes in Lebanon that Israel characterised as self-defence, The Independent report says.
Mr Trump was concerned by the fact that many Lebanese civilians have been killed in Israeli strikes and objected to Israel knocking down buildings to take down a single Hezbollah commander, the British outlet reports citing a US official.
In what has been described as one of the worst calls between the two, Mr Trump “steamrolled” Mr Netanyahu, a US official said, and Mr Netanyahu responded with “OK, OK just make sure everything is taken care of”.
Later in the day, Mr Trump said there would be no troops going to Beirut and those already on the way have been turned back following the call, according to the report.