The United States President, Donald Trump, has confirmed that he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “fucking crazy” during a heated phone call on Monday.
According to Trump, he was “disturbed” by Israel’s escalating military campaign in Lebanon but insisting the two leaders still maintain a close relationship.
Speaking on the Pod Force One podcast on Tuesday, Trump said: “I wouldn’t say I was angry, but I was a bit disturbed by his ongoing struggle in Lebanon.” He also confirmed using the expletive but added: “I like Bibi very much, we worked excellently together.”
Trump’s remarks followed an Axios report that cited two U.S. officials and another source on the conversation between the US and Israeli leaders.
According to the report, Trump told Netanyahu: “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.” Another source said the president at one point shouted: “What the fuck are you doing?”
The reported outburst was linked to Netanyahu’s plans for major strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut. U.S. officials told Axios that Trump feared the escalation could derail ongoing negotiations with Iran. Iran had already suspended peace talks on Monday, citing continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon as a violation of ceasefire terms. Washington has made a halt to Israeli operations in Lebanon a central demand in the deal currently under negotiation.
One U.S. official described the exchange as among the most difficult conversations between the two leaders since Trump returned to office.
According to the report, Trump ultimately persuaded Netanyahu to cancel the planned strikes on Beirut, with one official claiming the Israeli leader eventually relented and agreed to call off the operation. Israel subsequently cancelled the planned strikes.
During the same podcast interview, Trump said he expected to meet Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, although he joked that “if you believe the stories, he’s missing a lot of parts”, an apparent reference to reports that the Iranian leader had been wounded during recent hostilities.
Netanyahu’s office has not publicly responded to either the Axios report or Trump’s subsequent confirmation of the remarks.
