DONALD Trump branded Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu "f***ing crazy" in a furious phone call, according to reports.
The US president allegedly told Netanyahu that he was responsible for keeping him out of prison during an exchange on Monday, in reference to his support for Netanyahu during his corruption trial, sources familiar with the matter told Axios.
The American news outlet reported that Trump accused Netanyahu of ingratitude, warning him that following through on his threats to bomb the Lebanese capital of Beirut would further isolate Israel around the world.
Trump reportedly fears that Netanyahu's actions in Lebanon are threatening to implode his negotiations with Iran, as tensions across the Middle East continue to increase.
Summarising Trump's remarks to Netanyahu, one US official said: "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."
A second source told Axios that Trump was "pissed" and at one point yelled at Netanyahu: "What the fuck are you doing?"
They also claimed that Trump had "steamrolled" Netanyahu on the call, saying: "Bibi said, 'Ok, ok, just make sure everything is taken care of'."
The US president also reportedly expressed concern at the number of civilians Israel has killed in Lebanon, objecting to the Israeli military targeting whole buildings in order to take out a single Hezbollah commander, a similar tactic used by Israel in its brutal onslaught of Gaza.
Following the meeting, an Israeli official told Axios that Israel no longer plans to strike alleged Hezbollah targets in Beirut.
But in a statement released by Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister claimed that "our position remains the same" and that Israel would attack targets in Beirut if Hezbollah did not stop attacking Israel.
Meanwhile, Trump took to his Truth Social social media platform to claim that negotiations with Iran were "continuing, at a rapid pace".
