U.S. President Donald Trump recently called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and strongly scolded him, lacing his rebuke with profanity, according to reports.
U.S. online outlet Axios reported on the 1st, citing multiple sources, that President Trump raged during a call with Prime Minister Netanyahu on the 28th, saying, "What on earth are you doing?"
According to the sources, President Trump expressed strong displeasure during the call by telling Prime Minister Netanyahu, "If it weren't for me, you would be in prison by now." It was seen as pressure by reminding him that Trump had provided political support while Netanyahu stands trial on corruption charges.
Axios said Trump also used the phrases "crazy" and "ungrateful" toward Netanyahu, and some remarks included profanity. One official said, "Among the calls between the two leaders since Trump returned to power, this was the most hostile in tone."
The reason for Trump's fury, reports said, was that Israel expanded its attacks on Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned armed faction in Lebanon, putting U.S.-Iran talks on the verge of being halted. In fact, local outlets reported that Iran, calling Israel's strikes in Lebanon a violation of the cease-fire agreement, stopped exchanging messages related to end-of-war talks with the United States.
Trump was said to acknowledge the need to respond to Hezbollah's provocations while judging that Israel's military actions were expanding excessively. In particular, he reportedly took issue with a recent case in which Israel bombed an entire building to eliminate a single Hezbollah commander, causing civilian casualties.
Sources said Trump expressed strong displeasure on the call, saying, "Because of this, everyone has come to hate Israel."
Afterward, Israel was said to have put on hold plans for additional airstrikes on Hezbollah facilities in Beirut. Trump also wrote on his social media, Truth Social, that he had a "productive call" with Prime Minister Netanyahu and suggested there would be "no attack on Beirut."
However, Netanyahu later said in a statement that "if Hezbollah continues its attacks, we will strike targets in Beirut," maintaining his hard-line stance.