US President Donald Trump gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a serious verbal smackdown over the breakdown of the ceasefire in the Middle East during a phone call. This was reported on Monday, June 1, by the American portal Axios citing sources. According to them, among other things, the Republican referred to the Israeli leader as "crazy."
During the call, Trump also stated that he helped the Israeli Prime Minister avoid jail time over a corruption case. He pointed out that due to the strikes on Lebanon, Netanyahu is "hated by everyone" - and this could lead his country to even greater international isolation, according to Axios.
Trump is concerned about civilian casualties
On June 1, Netanyahu ordered strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, justifying them as necessary due to the escalation of conflict with the Islamist group "Hezbollah", which is backed by the Iranian authorities. The day before, Netanyahu also expanded the ground operation in Lebanon following Hezbollah's strikes on northern areas of Israel.
Sources close to the US administration told Axios that during the call, the White House head expressed concern about the number of civilian casualties in Lebanon, as well as the demolition of residential buildings for the operation to eliminate several Hezbollah commanders.
Trump: Negotiations with Iran are ongoing
Against the backdrop of Israeli strikes on targets in Lebanon, the Iranian agency Tasnim, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), announced the suspension of negotiations between Tehran and Washington through intermediaries. Iranian authorities believe that Lebanon is one of the conditions for a ceasefire with the USA, but fighting there continues "on all fronts", according to the agency's report.
Trump denied the statements about the cessation of negotiations and emphasized that they are "continuing at a rapid pace". In a post on the social network Truth Social, the US president mentioned that he had arranged with Israel and Lebanon to cease mutual strikes, thus ensuring the continuation of negotiations.