U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “crazy” during a heated phone call over Israel’s fighting in Lebanon, as Washington tried to negotiate an end to hostilities with Iran.
Speaking in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, Trump was asked about an Axios report that said he had used profanity during a call with Netanyahu and accused the Israeli leader of ingratitude.
“I did,” Trump told the “Pod Force One” podcast, when asked whether he had described Netanyahu as “effing crazy.”
Trump said he was not angry, but “a little bit perturbed” by Netanyahu’s continued fighting in Lebanon. He added that he and the Israeli prime minister still “get along very well.”
According to Axios, which cited an unidentified U.S. official, Trump told Netanyahu that he was “crazy” and pressed him to stop the fighting. Trump said in the interview that he had told Netanyahu: “Bibi, we got to stop this.”
Netanyahu, asked about the report during an interview with CNBC, declined to discuss the details of the call but played down any rift with Trump.
“We have common goals,” Netanyahu said, describing the dispute as a tactical disagreement. “He’s been the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House, and he respects me; I respect him. We always find a way to work out our differences.”
The exchange comes as the United States seeks to end a wider conflict involving Israel, Iran and Hezbollah. Iran has said it will not agree to a deal with Washington unless any ceasefire also covers Lebanon, where Israel launched an invasion in March against the Iran-aligned Hezbollah movement.
A U.S.-mediated understanding announced on Monday led Israel to scale back attacks on Hezbollah-controlled southern Beirut, while Hezbollah halted cross-border strikes. However, violence has continued.
Lebanese security sources said Israeli drone strikes killed at least six people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday and targeted a car south of Beirut. Israel said it had intercepted a hostile aircraft likely fired by Hezbollah.
Trump also rejected suggestions that Netanyahu had drawn him into attacking Iran, saying he had acted because Tehran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“I’m the one that started it,” Trump said. He added that Israel would have been in a far worse position without his policies, arguing that there would be “no Israel” without him.
Trump defended his 2018 withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which had offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for limits on its nuclear programme. Since the U.S. exit from the accord, Iran has expanded its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, while Trump has demanded that Tehran give them up.
Critics of Trump’s approach say Iran is now closer to being able to produce a nuclear weapon and that negotiating a stronger deal will be difficult.
