Netanyahu calls off Lebanon raid after ‘heated’ call with Trump

US President Donald Trump said he persuaded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a planned strike on Beirut. Trump also claimed Hezbollah representatives agreed to halt attacks, amid escalating regional tensions and fragile ceasefire efforts

Washington: US President Donald Trump said he persuaded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call off the strike on Beirut, following which the Israeli leader “turned his troops around”.

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social on Monday evening amid reports that the conversation between the two leaders was “heated” and the US president telling Netanyahu that he would have been in prison but for his intervention.

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“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,” he said, referring to the Israeli prime minister by his widely used nickname.

Trump’s phone calls with Netanyahu came after Iran threatened to end the negotiations with the US over Israel’s attacks on Lebanon. Netanyahu had said Israel would hit “terror targets” in Beirut if Hezbollah did not stop attacking Israel.

The president said he also had a conversation with the representatives of the leaders of Hezbollah, who agreed to “stop shooting at Israel and its soldiers”.

“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.

US media outlet Axios reported that tempers flew during Trump’s phone call with Netanyahu.

“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 that he had not been informed of the decision to suspend negotiations ahead of time, but “it’s fine if they’re done talking”.

“It’s an appropriate thing to say, because they’re better negotiators than they are fighters,” he said in a brief phone call with NBC News.

“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 US military and Iran exchanged strikes over the weekend and into Monday, threatening the nearly two-month-old truce agreed to by the warring sides.

Despite the truce, Israel has been pressing ahead with a military offensive in Lebanon, with its forces marking their deepest incursion into the country in 26 years over the weekend.