US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone call over the weekend centered mostly on the war in Iran which led them to have “a shouting match from hell”.
According to a report by Ynet News, an Israeli news website, the two leaders had an intense and volatile conversation amid the disagreements between the United States and Israel over the resumption of strikes on Iran.
However, the report stated that Netanyahu’s office has rejected the claim and said that the exchange was not heated.
“Fake news, complete nonsense,” his office claimed.
Another senior Israeli official confirmed that the conversation took place but clarified that it was “very much not a difficult conversation”.
Trump and Netanyahu have previously had heated telephone exchanges over the conflict. Following several disagreements in June, Trump told The Post that he had called Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” during one conversation.
READ | “You’re F***ing Crazy, Everybody Hates You Now”: Trump-Netanyahu Heated Call
Netanyahu’s speech at the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset on Tuesday, highlighted sharp divisions over Iran both with the US and within Israel’s domestic politics.
During the address, Netanyahu declared that Iran is actively working to rebuild its nuclear capabilities and argued that toppling the regime of the ayatollahs is the only permanent solution.
“The only way to permanently eliminate this existential threat is to overthrow the regime of the ayatollahs,” he said.
READ | Netanyahu Calls Trump “Every Day” To Push Him To Renew Iran Strikes: Report
He warned that Israel will soon face international pressure to accept a nuclear-armed Iran and relinquish recent military gains in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank.
Trump is prioritising diplomatic negotiations and economic pressure over immediate military action against Iran, despite persistent lobbying from Netanyahu to resume strikes.
Netanyahu Calls Trump “Every Day” To Push Him To Renew Iran Strikes
According to a report by the Financial Times, Netanyahu has been calling Trump every day to urge him to resume strikes on Iran.
“Netanyahu calls him every day [to urge him to resume the war]. Those who don’t want a war within the White House and outside have been trying to combat that,” a person briefed on the discussions is quoted as saying by the publication.
“The regional leaders are telling him not to escalate and prioritise negotiations”, the person added.
The report quoted a person familiar with the situation in Israel and said that Netanyahu wanted the strikes on Iran but that there was not a “push” to persuade Trump.
The Financial Times report mentioned that Arab and Muslim leaders have been alarmed by Netanyahu’s lobbying for Trump to restart the war with Iran.
Trump has resisted calls to resume the conflict, choosing instead to let the US economic pressure campaign continue in an effort to compel Iran to make concessions. Asked during a “60 Minutes” interview on Sunday whether he would restart the war, Trump said he did not think “there’s any reason to”.
The reported exchange underscored the leaders’ differing positions, with Netanyahu seeking renewed military action and regime change in Iran, while Trump continued to favour diplomacy and economic pressure. Israel has denied that the weekend call developed into a clash.