Trump, Netanyahu Downplay Tensions as Lebanon Fighting Complicates Iran Talks

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to downplay signs of friction this week after Trump confirmed he used sharp language during a private phone call over Israel’s continuing military operations in Lebanon.

In an exclusive interview with The New York Post’s Miranda Devine for the “Pod Force One” podcast, Trump acknowledged that he had called Netanyahu “f––ing crazy” during a Monday phone call, but insisted the remark did not reflect a rupture between the two leaders.

“We’ve worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,” Trump said.

The president said his frustration stemmed from Israel’s continued fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has become a complicating factor in U.S.-led efforts to secure a broader agreement with Iran. Tehran has reportedly demanded that Israel halt its operations against Hezbollah before any deal is reached to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin dismantling Iran’s nuclear program.

“I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon,” Trump said.

Still, Trump cast both men as leaders navigating wartime pressure.

“I’m a wartime president,” he said. “He’s a wartime prime minister.”

The tension comes as the Trump administration continues to press for a memorandum of understanding with Iran that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz as early as this week. The closure has helped drive energy-market concerns, though Trump dismissed warnings that oil could soar to catastrophic levels.

“Everyone said it was going to be $300, $400 a barrel,” Trump said, adding that oil remained far lower than those predictions. He argued that the economic cost is outweighed by the need to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Trump said talks with Iran are “rapidly evolving” and maintained that his administration would not allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon. At the same time, he indicated he is not rushing into a deal, acknowledging that the U.S. naval blockade around the strategic waterway could remain in place until Labor Day if necessary.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, used a Wednesday interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen from Jerusalem to insist that the U.S.-Israel relationship remains strong.

“This has been a great relationship, because he’s been the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House,” Netanyahu said of Trump. “And he respects me. I respect him. We always find a way to work out our differences.”

Netanyahu described the dispute as a tactical disagreement, not a strategic break. He said Trump understands that Hezbollah has effectively taken control of Lebanon, holds its citizens “at gunpoint,” and uses Lebanese territory as a launchpad for missile attacks against Israel.

“I know that this is a goal that the president and I share,” Netanyahu said, referring to the need to disarm Hezbollah.

According to Netanyahu, Monday’s phone call centered on whether Israel would target Beirut-based terrorist leaders who ordered attacks on Israeli cities. He said an understanding was reached that Israel would refrain from targeting them if they stopped directing attacks, though he could not say whether that arrangement would hold.

“Ultimately, the change has to be to disarm Hezbollah,” Netanyahu said. “You can’t have these genocidal terrorists taking over the poor country of Lebanon, using it to try to invade Israel the way that Hamas invaded us.”

Netanyahu also expressed support for Trump’s diplomatic effort with Iran, provided any agreement requires Tehran’s enriched uranium to be removed from the country and its enrichment sites dismantled.

“I think the president believes that he can get this through diplomatic pressure and tough negotiations, and I think he should be given a chance,” Netanyahu said.

The prime minister argued that Iran still has leverage through its pressure on the Strait of Hormuz, but said the regime has “never been weaker” after U.S. and Israeli military pressure. He praised Trump’s “reverse blockade” strategy as “a stroke of genius.”

Netanyahu also warned that Iran’s recent drone strikes against Bahrain and Kuwait were part of a dangerous “tactical game” and said Tehran should take seriously Trump’s warnings that full-scale military action remains an option.

“Israel is ready and the U.S. forces are ready,” Netanyahu said. “I think Iran should take that into account. I think they are taking it into account. But they’re playing with fire.”

The prime minister said regime change in Iran remains possible, though impossible to predict. He argued that Israel’s conflict is with Iran’s rulers, not its people, whom he described as seeking freedom, democracy, and better relations with the West.

Netanyahu also pointed to Israel’s economic resilience since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, saying southern communities are recovering, Hamas has been pushed back, the Iranian axis has been “shattered,” and investment continues to flow into Israel.

“Our currency is the strongest it’s been in our history. The stock market is soaring. Our defense and other technological exports are going through the roof, and people are coming to invest,” Netanyahu said.

In a notable closing remark, Netanyahu called for the eventual end of U.S. military aid to Israel, saying the relationship should move from aid to equal partnership in defense, innovation, and technology.

For now, both Trump and Netanyahu are publicly projecting unity, even as the war against Hezbollah, the standoff with Iran, and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz test the limits of diplomacy. The dispute revealed sharp tactical differences, but both leaders insist their core objective remains unchanged: Iran must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, and its terror proxies must not be permitted to dictate the future of the region.

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