Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called off a planned raid on Beirut after a reportedly heated phone call with US President Donald Trump, who later claimed credit for persuading Israel to pull back.
Trump announced the development on Truth Social on Monday evening, saying Netanyahu reversed course after their conversation.
“I had a conversation with Bibi Netanyahu today (Monday), asking him not to go into a major raid of Beirut, Lebanon. He turned his Troops around.
Thank you Bibi,” Trump wrote, referring to the Israeli prime minister by his widely used nickname.
The exchange came amid rising regional tensions after Iran reportedly threatened to walk away from negotiations with Washington over Israel’s military actions in Lebanon.
Netanyahu had earlier warned that Israel would target “terror targets” in Beirut if Hezbollah continued its attacks on Israel.
Trump also claimed he held talks with Hezbollah representatives, saying both sides had agreed to stop attacks.
“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,” he said.
Meanwhile, US media outlet Axios reported that tensions ran high during Trump’s phone call with Netanyahu, with tempers flaring between the two leaders.
“You're f*ing crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your a*. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this,” Axios reported, quoting an unnamed US official.
A second source told Axios that Trump was “pissed” and at one point yelled at Netanyahu, “What the f* are you doing?” Another official told the outlet Trump had “steamrolled” Netanyahu during the call.
“Bibi said, 'OK, OK, just make sure everything is taken care of',” according to the official.
Earlier, Trump told NBC News he had not been informed in advance about the reported suspension of negotiations but suggested he was unconcerned if talks had ended.
“It's fine if they're done talking,” Trump said in a brief phone call with NBC News.
“It's an appropriate thing to say, because they're better negotiators than they are fighters,” he said. “But they haven't informed us of that. It doesn't mean we're going to go and start dropping bombs all over there,” Trump said.
The remarks came after US and Iranian forces exchanged strikes over the weekend and into Monday, putting pressure on a nearly two-month-old truce between the warring sides.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued its military offensive in Lebanon, with Israeli troops carrying out their deepest incursion into the country in 26 years over the weekend.
(With inputs from PTI)
