U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “crazy” during a heated phone call over Israel’s military operations in Lebanon, as Washington sought to negotiate an end to hostilities with Iran.
Speaking in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, Trump was asked whether he had called Netanyahu “effing crazy” and accused him of ingratitude, as reported by Axios.
“I did,” Trump told the “Pod Force One” podcast. “I wouldn’t say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon.”
Trump later said that he and Netanyahu still had a strong relationship.
According to Axios, citing an unnamed U.S. official, Trump used profanity during the call on Monday and accused Netanyahu of worsening Israel’s international standing.
“At some point I said, Bibi, we got to stop this. We got to stop it,” Trump said in the interview.
Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on Trump’s confirmation of the remarks. Israeli officials have not publicly addressed the reported exchange, though Israeli media have cited sources downplaying tensions between the two leaders.
Iran has said it will not agree to a U.S.-backed deal to end the war launched by Trump and Netanyahu in late February unless any ceasefire also includes Lebanon. Israel invaded Lebanon in March, saying it was targeting the Iran-aligned Hezbollah movement, which had launched cross-border attacks in support of Tehran.
Despite a U.S.-mediated agreement announced on Monday, hostilities have continued. The deal saw Israel halt attacks on Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, while the group agreed to stop cross-border strikes.
Lebanese security sources said Israeli drone strikes killed at least six people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday and targeted a vehicle south of Beirut. Israel said it had intercepted a hostile aircraft likely launched by Hezbollah.
Trump also rejected claims that Netanyahu had pushed him into attacking Iran, saying he had acted to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“I’m the one that started it,” Trump said. “I started because we can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump said Israel would have been in grave danger without his actions.
“There would be no Israel,” he said. “If there wasn’t me, there would be no Israel right now.”
Trump defended his 2018 decision to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, reached under former President Barack Obama with other world powers. The deal had limited Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
Since the U.S. withdrawal, Iran has expanded its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Trump is now demanding that Tehran give up those stockpiles, while critics argue his withdrawal from the deal brought Iran closer to the ability to build a nuclear weapon.