Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu allegedly engaged in what sources described as a “shouting match from hell” while disputing the next phase of the war with Iran.
Relations between the US president and Israeli prime minister have repeatedly become strained as the conflict has continued, although Trump has remained a firm supporter of Israel.
The two leaders reportedly clashed over the weekend after Netanyahu pressed for military action to resume, while Trump continued to favor negotiations aimed at securing peace, Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
During an appearance on CBS News’ 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump said he had no desire to restart the strikes.
“Well, I’m not looking to. I don’t think there’s any reason to. I don’t think there’s any reason to,” he said.
Sources familiar with the conversation said the pair erupted into the exchange described as a “shouting match from hell.”
Representatives for Netanyahu angrily rejected the account, dismissing it as “fake news, complete nonsense.”
A senior Israeli official also said the call was “very much not a difficult conversation.”
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu allegedly engaged in a fierce dispute over the next steps in the war with Iran
Relations between the president and prime minister have often become strained as the conflict has continued, despite Trump’s ongoing support for Israel
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment.
The alleged confrontation came as both leaders faced signs that their political control was weakening.
Trump’s Republican Party is expected to lose control of Congress in January after the “blue tsunami” midterm elections. Netanyahu, meanwhile, remains well short of the majority required to retain the premiership following Israel’s elections.
It was not the first reported confrontation between the two leaders since they began a joint military operation against Iran.
In May, Trump and Netanyahu reportedly argued over whether to strike Iran during a “dramatic” overnight phone call. The conversation came hours after a failed plot to topple Tehran’s regime during the early days of the war was revealed.
Israel’s Channel 12 described that call as “lengthy and dramatic.”
Weeks later, reports emerged that Trump had called Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” during a conversation shortly before the president announced a pause in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
On Truth Social, Trump said the Israeli prime minister had “turned his troops around” rather than carry out a “major raid” in Lebanon on Monday.
He said the Israeli military and Hezbollah-aligned militia groups had both agreed to “stop shooting” at each other.
Trump and Netanyahu reportedly clashed after Netanyahu pushed to resume the war while Trump continued advocating negotiations to reach a peace agreement
Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, waves an Israeli flag after exit polls were released at his party headquarters on October 28
Trump tempered the announcement with a note of cautious optimism, writing: “Let’s see how long that lasts — Hopefully it will be for ETERNITY!”
Before the announcement, the leaders had reportedly held a tense phone conversation about the intensifying conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
According to a source who spoke to Axios, Trump at one point asked Netanyahu bluntly: “What the f*** are you doing?”
Trump then reportedly berated the prime minister, telling him directly that he would be in prison without the president’s support.
“You’re f***ing 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,” he reportedly said.
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Two sources told the outlet that Trump accused Netanyahu of being ungrateful and warned that carrying out threats to bomb Beirut would further damage Israel’s position.
The sources suggested Trump’s anger stemmed from his belief that Israel’s military actions were making it more difficult to reach a peace agreement with Iran.
Netanyahu later appeared to question Trump’s ceasefire announcement, warning that Israel would strike Beirut if Hezbollah continued attacking the country.
In June, Trump again claimed that “there would be no Israel” without him, while criticizing Netanyahu and accusing him of having “no f*****g judgment” during the Lebanon conflict.
Speaking to reporters at the G7 summit in France, Trump said Israel’s war with Hezbollah had continued for too long and urged Netanyahu to act “more responsibly” in Lebanon.
“Israel’s fighting Hezbollah too long and too many people are being killed,” he said during a bilateral meeting with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
“You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they’re not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you.”
Several weeks later, Trump again attacked Netanyahu before promising to destroy Iran’s last nuclear facility, which is located deep beneath a mountain.
The president criticized Netanyahu after the Israeli leader told reporters he would provide Trump with evidence that Iran was still developing its nuclear program at the site, known as Pickaxe Mountain.
“Well, I don’t need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved,” Trump told Fox News before meeting Netanyahu in the Oval Office.
Trump also warned Netanyahu against airing disagreements publicly, saying they should be discussed privately instead.
“I heard Bibi announce that. I said, ‘Why didn’t you just tell it to me? Why do you have to announce it to the world?’”
In recent months, however, the relationship appeared to improve, with Trump taking credit for strengthening Netanyahu’s position in the elections.
He wrote: “When President Trump endorsed Bibi Netanyahu, the whole tide turned, and now, rather than a decisive defeat for a great prime minister, it looks like a big come-from-behind stalemate, or even a WIN for Netanyahu.”
Trump publicly endorsed Netanyahu on October 18, just nine days before Israelis went to the polls, giving the country’s longest-serving prime minister his “complete and total endorsement.”
Netanyahu’s future as prime minister is nevertheless uncertain after Israeli President Isaac Herzog asked opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form a new government.
Trump also said the United States would end its aid to Israel by the end of the year after reaching an agreement with Netanyahu.
“They don’t need it. Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an [Abdul] El-Sayed when they don’t need it? They no longer need it, Israel is a thriving country,” Trump said in a Tuesday interview with Fox and Friends.
He explained: “Bibi Netanyahu and I have made a deal that we give Israel $4 billion a year, and we made a deal months ago that we’re stopping.”
Trump said the aid would be “cut off at the end of the year,” although he added that the US could provide assistance again if circumstances changed.
“Now we’ll help Israel if they need it. You know they’ve been a great ally,” he added.
Trump also said Netanyahu understood that US aid to Israel had become a political issue for Democrats, including Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal critic of Israel.
“The left uses the $4 billion payment – that everybody knows about, it’s no secret – as a signal of unfairness,” the president said.
“And we can’t allow that to happen. I don’t like that, because it’s too easy. It’s almost too easy a target. And Bibi and I have been talking, and we’ve agreed. He was very understanding of it.”
Although the $4 billion in aid is due to end, the United States will continue selling arms to Israel.