WASHINGTON(National Times)- US President Donald Trump has confirmed that he had lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the latter\u2019s escalation in Lebanon in a recent expletive-laden phone call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Monday, American news outlet Axios<\/em> reported<\/a> citing sources that Trump called Netanyahu \u201ccrazy\u201d and accused him of ingratitude during the phone call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The report quoted a US official as saying that Trump told Netanyahu \u201cyou\u2019re f****** crazy. You\u2019d be in prison if it weren\u2019t for me. I\u2019m saving your a**. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump confirmed to New York Post<\/em><\/a>\u2019s Miranda Devine during \u2018Pod One Force\u2019 podcast that he called Netanyahu \u201cf****** crazy\u201d, but also insisted that they have \u201cworked very well together\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked if the Axios<\/em> report was true and whether he spoke to Netanyahu in those terms, Trump replied, \u201cI did. I wouldn\u2019t say angry, I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt some point, I said Bibi, we\u2019re gonna stop this. We got to stop it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, Trump said, \u201cBut I have a very good relationship. [\u2026] We\u2019ve worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,\u201d Trump insisted after confirming his expletive-laden outburst demanding that Netanyahu cease attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m a wartime president,\u201d the commander-in-chief said. \u201cHe\u2019s a wartime prime minister.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Israeli officials have not commented publicly on the phone conversation since the Axios<\/em> report, but Israeli media have quoted sources playing down the friction between the two leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump further said that although he was frustrated by the possibility of Lebanon-Israel conflict derailing a larger peace, he remained optimistic about having a deal with Iran \u201cfairly quickly\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At one point during his interview, Trump was also asked about people saying Netanyahu \u201ctricked\u201d him into the Iran war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Criticising the Democrats for such remarks and their policy stances, Trump said, \u201cI\u2019m the one that started it [\u2026] because we can\u2019t let them have a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow, that pertains to Israel because they probably would have been the first ones to get hit [\u2026] I\u2019ll tell you what, if it wasn\u2019t for me, there would be no Israel right now,\u201d he added, recalling his move to terminate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The US-Iran conflict is currently stalemated in a shaky ceasefire<\/u><\/a> more than three months after initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The delicate diplomatic process keeping hopes for peace between Iran and the US seemed to teeter on Monday after Tehran and Washington offered diverging assessments of the status of negotiations, with Israel\u2019s expanding front<\/a> in Lebanon proving to be the main spoiler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After Netanyahu ordered attacks on Beirut on Monday, Tehran said it considered the ceasefire violated \u201con all fronts\u201d and accused the US of violating the truce. Iran also said it had suspended indirect negotiations with the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The announcement was initially shrugged off by Trump, but he later moved to allay Iranian concerns over Israeli attacks in Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only did he speak to his ally Netanyahu, but he also claimed to have exchanged views with Hezbollah through intermediaries \u2014 a first for a US president \u2014 to stop the fighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere will be no troops going to Beirut, and any troops that are on their way have already been turned back\u201d, he posted on Truth Social, adding that Hezbollah had also agreed to stop attacking Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his interview with The Post<\/em>, Trump voiced optimism regarding talks with Iran, saying that they were \u201crapidly evolving\u201d. He also insisted that Iran had agreed not to have a nuclear weapon and \u201clots of other good things are going to happen\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since mid-March, Trump has repeatedly said<\/u><\/a> he is close to a deal to end the fighting and allow negotiators to tackle thorny issues, including the future of Iran\u2019s nuclear programme. Trump has said his top priority is to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran denies<\/u><\/a> it is developing a nuclear bomb and says its atomic programme is for peaceful purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump also said during the interview that Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was \u201cinvolved, absolutely\u201d in decisions to end the war. \u201cI\u2019d like to meet him,\u201d he said, adding that the two would \u201cprobably meet at some point, depending on how it all works out\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He reiterated his claims of destroying Iran\u2019s military, saying, \u201cTheir navy\u2019s wiped out. Their air force is all gone after three days. Their military was virtually wiped out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump remarked, \u201cNow we have to make a determination \u2014 do we sign a deal or we do it the other way. And the other way is not nice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, he added, \u201cBut I\u2019d rather do it the nice way from a humanitarian standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked about whether his \u201cother way\u201d would involve only bombing Iran, Trump replied, \u201cYeah, you don\u2019t have to. We don\u2019t need boots on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, the US president asserted that gas prices in the United States would come down when the Iran conflict ends and that inflation at the moment is not \u201cvery much\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have very much inflation. Look, if you take away just the price of gasoline, the energy, we have very little inflation,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WASHINGTON(National Times)- US President Donald Trump has confirmed that he had lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the latter\u2019s escalation in Lebanon in a recent expletive-laden phone call. On Monday, American news outlet Axios reported citing sources that Trump called Netanyahu \u201ccrazy\u201d and accused him of ingratitude during the phone call. The report quoted a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>Iran situation \u2018rapidly evolving\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n