After a day of tension, which seemed to have pushed negotiations between Iran and the United States back towards peace by several weeks, Washington and Tehran seem to have gotten back on track. At the center now is the situation in Lebanon, with the advance of the Israeli army and the announcement of a carpet bombing of Beirut, then postponed after a phone call between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump himself described the situation as a “small hiccup that was quickly resolved.” And he spoke of a “productive call with Bibi”, although according to American sources during the dialogue the American president would have insulted the Israeli prime minister, harshly criticizing his military campaign in the Land of the Cedars.
Trump’s phone call to Netanyahu
It would have been a heated phone call between Trump and Netanyahu that dissuaded Tel Aviv from the sweeping raid it was preparing on Beirut, Lebanon. While the American president officially described it as a moment of cordiality in which the two leaders agreed on the next steps to take, informed sources report that the tycoon appeared furious with Netanyahu.
The clash was revealed by Barak Ravid, an Israeli journalist who works for the American site Axios, an expert on Middle Eastern wars. Trump reportedly called Bibi a “crazy” several times. And he would have accused him of ingratitude, reminding him of “having kept him out of prison”. A reference to his support during Netanyahu’s corruption trial. Trump allegedly said: “You’re completely out of your mind. If it wasn’t for me, you’d be in jail. I’m saving your ass. Now everyone hates you. Everyone hates Israel because of this.” Another source adds that Trump was “furious” and at one point shouted at Netanyahu: “What the f*** are you doing?”.
What’s behind Trump’s anger? Israel’s escalation, with the attacks on Beirut and the prolonged invasion of southern Lebanon, also seemed “disproportionate” to the US president. According to one of the sources cited by Axios, “Trump was concerned that Israel had killed so many civilians in Lebanon and opposed the Israelis’ decision to demolish buildings to eliminate a single Hezbollah commander.” In essence, Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon are ruining Trump’s plans for negotiations with Iran.
On his social network Truth, Trump did not describe the exchange with Netanyahu in these terms, calling the one with the Israeli prime minister “a very productive phone call”, and adding that “there will be no troops going to Beirut, and those who were going have already gone back”. Trump also revealed “an excellent phone call with Hezbollah” and wrote that the Shiite militia “agreed to cease any type of firefight.” Finally, he said that talks with Iran are “proceeding at a rapid pace.”
Meanwhile, during the night Israel and Hezbollah continued clashes despite the announcement of a ceasefire in view of the negotiations between the Lebanese and Israelis scheduled for today in Washington. Faced with Israel’s offensive in Lebanon, the Pasdaran (formally known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) threatened to open new fronts in the war, returning to strike the Gulf countries.