Trump confirms he called Netanyahu 'crazy' over the phone, but insists they're still getting along

DONALD TRUMP HAS confirmed a report that he criticised Benjamin Netanyahu as “crazy”, saying he was “a little bit perturbed” that Israel’s attacks on Lebanon were holding back peace talks with Iran.

But the US president insisted his relationship with the Israeli prime minister is solid, and they connect in part because they are both “wartime” leaders.

“We’ve worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,” Trump told the New York Post’s Pod Force One in an interview released today.

Netanyahu responded that he and Trump sometimes have “tactical disagreements” but have “common goals” and “agree on the main things”.

“He respects me. I respect him. We always find a way to work out our differences,” the Israeli leader said in an interview on CNBC.

The president’s acknowledgement of the tense phone call with Netanyahu on Monday is a sign of the growing pressure he faces to resolve the Iran war, as higher energy prices and economic uncertainty are harming Republicans going into midterm elections and hampering global commerce.

Axios had reported that in a phone call to Netanyahu, Trump said “you’re fucking crazy” and “everybody hates Israel because of this”.

“You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now,” he allegedly said.

The call followed renewed Israeli attacks on Lebanon on Monday. At least 3,516 people have been killed in Lebanon since March, according to the country’s health ministry. 

Tehran responded to Israel’s strikes by threatening to suspend talks with the US – a potential setback to Trump’s efforts to extricate himself from an unpopular war with Iran.

But Trump remained non-committal about a timeline for settling the conflict, saying the Strait of Hormuz might stay blocked until the Labour Day holiday on 7 September.

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He has insisted that Tehran stop any efforts that could lead to a nuclear weapon and that the strait be reopened for the shipments of oil and natural gas.

“I don’t know. I mean, I think it could be (closed until Labour Day), but I think it’s unlikely. I think that we’ll have it. I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly,” Trump said.

He added that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his late father, is “involved” in peace talks.

“They have a lot of respect for him,” Trump said in the interview.

The president said that Khamenei is not doing well due to injuries sustained in an air strike, but “they say he’s giving approval because that’s the way it has been for a long, long time”.

Khamenei’s father was killed during air strikes when the US and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February.

US House votes to curb Trump’s authority in Iran

This evening, the US House of Representatives delivered a major rebuke to Trump over the conflict with Iran, backing a measure that would force him to seek congressional approval or withdraw US forces.

The House voted 215-208 in favour of the war powers resolution, with four Republicans joining Democrats.

The vote came almost two weeks after House Republicans cancelled an earlier vote, citing a lack of support to defeat the measure.

The Senate last month advanced a similar resolution after four Republican senators broke ranks to vote with Democrats.

The latest vote comes as efforts to reach a negotiated settlement to the three-month conflict have yet to bear fruit, despite repeated claims by Trump and senior administration officials that a deal is close and that Iran is eager to reach an agreement.

Polls have consistently shown limited public support for the conflict, with Republicans increasingly concerned that rising fuel prices could damage the party’s prospects in November’s congressional midterm elections.