- US President Trump admitted calling Netanyahu "f***ing crazy" over Lebanon escalation
- Trump said he was "perturbed" by Netanyahu's constant fighting with Lebanon
- Trump claimed he helped keep Netanyahu out of jail during his corruption trial
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a heated and expletive-filled phone call over Israel's escalation in Lebanon.
Speaking on a New York Post podcast, Trump acknowledged that he called Netanyahu "fucking crazy" and accused him of ingratitude.
"I did", Trump said. He added, "I wouldn't say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon, you know. At some point I said, 'Bibi, we've got to stop this. We gotta stop it.'"
Read | "You're F***ing Crazy, Everybody Hates You Now": Trump-Netanyahu Heated Call
However, he quickly stated that he has a close relationship with Netanyahu despite the altercation, saying, "We've done well together... I like Bibi a lot."
The exchange underscored the shaky ties between two right-wing allies who started the war by launching an attack on Iran in late February that spread to Israel striking Lebanon.
Israeli media have rejected the account of the conversation.
Inside The Trump-Netanyahu Heated Call
According to an Axios report, citing US officials and a third source briefed on the call, Trump claimed he had helped keep Netanyahu out of jail -- a reference to his support during the Israeli leader's corruption trial.
"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," Trump told Netanyahu, according to the report.
At one point, a source said Trump got "pissed" with Netanyahu and asked him, "What the fuck are you doing?"
Before the call, Trump reportedly knew Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy militia operating from Lebanon, had been shooting at Israel and that Tel Aviv needed to defend itself. But sources said that Trump felt, in recent days, Netanyahu was escalating in a disproportionate way.
After the phone call with Netanyahu, which he touted as "productive", Trump said that no Israeli troops will head to Beirut.
"I had a conversation with Bibi Netanyahu today, asking him not to go into a major raid of Beirut, Lebanon. He turned his troops around. Thank you, Bibi!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The US leader added, "I also had a conversation with representatives of the leaders of Hezbollah, and they agreed to stop shooting at Israel and its soldiers. Likewise, Israel agreed to stop shooting at them. Let's see how long that lasts -- Hopefully it will be for ETERNITY!"
Read | Trump's "Eternity" Hope For Israel And Iran-Backed Hezbollah
However, Netanyahu also confirmed the conversation but cast it less as a restraint and more as a warning, saying he told Trump that Tel Aviv would strike targets in Beirut if Hezbollah's attacks did not stop.
