Axios: Trump angered by Netanyahu over strikes on Lebanon
US President Donald Trump has berated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call following Israeli strikes on Lebanon.
Sources told Axios that the phone conversation between Trump and Netanyahu included repeated profanity from the US president, who was unhappy with Israel's escalation in Lebanon.
During the call, Trump called Netanyahu "crazy" and accused him of being ungrateful, two sources said.
He also urged Netanyahu not to proceed with plans to strike the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Trump told the Israeli prime minister that attacks on Beirut would further isolate Israel internationally.
One source said Trump understood that Hezbollah had been firing at Israel and that Israel had the right to defend itself but believed Netanyahu had escalated the situation excessively in recent days.
Two sources said Trump claimed that he had helped Netanyahu avoid prison, referring to his support during the Israeli prime minister's corruption trial.
Summarising Trump's outburst towards Netanyahu, a US official quoted him as saying: "You're fucking 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."
A second source familiar with the conversation said Trump was "pissed" and at one point shouted at Netanyahu: "What the fuck are you doing?"
Trump and Netanyahu have had several tense conversations in the past but have nevertheless closely coordinated their actions on Iran and other issues.
One official said it was one of the worst conversations between Trump and Netanyahu since the US president returned to office.
Netanyahu later issued a statement saying that he had informed Trump that Israel would strike targets in Beirut unless Hezbollah stopped attacking Israel and that Israel would continue its operations in southern Lebanon in the meantime.
The sources said that the memorandum currently being negotiated between the US and Iran envisages a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon. This was the reason for an earlier tense conversation between the two leaders.
Trump's anger appears to have been driven by concerns that Netanyahu's decision to escalate the conflict in Lebanon could derail his negotiations with Iran.
After the conversation, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that negotiations with Iran were moving along at a rapid pace.
Earlier, the Iranian news agency Tasnim claimed that Iran had suspended negotiations with the US on a potential peace agreement in protest against Israel's actions in Lebanon.
Trump subsequently said that the Iranian side had not informed him that talks with Washington had been suspended.