US President Donald Trump reportedly lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday during a telephonic conversation. This was triggered after Iran issued a warning earlier that day, threatening to halt diplomatic engagements with Washington over ongoing military actions in Lebanon.
Iran’s warning to halt the diplomatic talks prompted an intervention from Trump, who at one point reportedly yelled at Netanyahu, “What the f*** are you doing?
According to a US official cited by Axios, the US President expressed his frustration over what he perceived as a disproportionate military response to Hezbollah’s strikes on Israel.
The report noted that Trump objected to the destruction of entire buildings to target an individual Hezbollah commander, whilst also taking issue with Tel Aviv’s escalating threats against Beirut. Another source privy to the discussion summarised part of his comments as “everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this,” Axios further reported.
Following the exchange, Netanyahu’s office released a statement asserting that Israel’s position “remains the same.”
However, a US official told Axios that Trump had actually “steamrolled” the Israeli Prime Minister during the call. The report quoted the official as saying, “Bibi said, ‘OK, OK, just make sure everything is taken care of.'”
Meanwhile, an additional administration official remarked that the interaction stood out as one of Trump’s worst calls with Netanyahu since the commencement of his second presidential term.
Trump took to social media to outline the immediate fallout of his intervention.
In a post on Truth Social, the US President announced that Netanyahu had “turned his Troops around” after he explicitly asked the Israeli leader “not to go into a major raid of Beirut”.
Trump further noted in a subsequent post that talks were continuing “at a rapid pace” with Iran.
US-Iran tensions
The United States and Israel launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities on February 28, killing Iran’s then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and several senior leaders.
After this, Iran responded with swarm of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and US interests in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Tehran also tightened its grip over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint through which a significant portion of the world’s energy supplies is transported.
Subsequently, a ceasefire was achieved between the warring parties on April 8, followed by lengthy talks between the Iranian and US delegations. However, the truce remains fragile as Washington and Tehran are engaged in diplomatic talks to bring a complete halt to the conflict.
