The difficult call between Trump and Netanyahu

 'You're f***ing crazy': The difficult call between Trump and Netanyahu

Axios reports that Trump fiercely berated Netanyahu in a phone call on Monday, forcing Israel to cancel its planned Beirut strikes.

A high-stakes telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deteriorated into a volatile, profanity-laced confrontation on Monday, according to accounts provided to Axios by two American officials and an additional briefed source.

The explosive clash was triggered after Iran threatened earlier in the day to walk away from diplomatic negotiations with the United States in protest of Israel's military operations in Lebanon.

Officials clarified that while the US president recognized Israel's inherent right to defend itself against ongoing rocket fire from Hezbollah, he believed Netanyahu's recent maneuvers - including a broadened ground incursion in southern Lebanon - had crossed into a disproportionate escalation.

Behind the scenes, however, American officials painted a vastly different picture of capitulation. The second US official claimed that Trump completely "steamrolled" the Prime Minister during the encounter. According to that official's account, Netanyahu ultimately yielded to the pressure, responding with: "OK, OK, just make sure everything is taken care of."