Watch: Trump tells BBC Netanyahu did not defy him

In a call with the US president, the BBC’s Sarah Smith asked Trump about the war in Iran and his relationship with the Israeli leader.

President Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations while maintaining military pressure if talks fail. This reflects the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent escalating regional tensions from undermining sensitive U.S.-Iran negotiations. Trump also asserted in an interview that Netanyahu would have no choice but to accept any deal reached between the U.S. and Iran.

President Trump confirmed that he sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Lebanon during a tense call. The exchange became profanity-laced, with Trump allegedly telling Netanyahu that he was “fucking crazy” and suggesting he would be in prison if not for Trump's support. The call was reportedly in reaction to the escalation of violence in Lebanon, highlighting growing tensions between Trump and Netanyahu, and broader concerns over conflict involving Iran.

Escalating tensions between Israel and Iran brought the U.S., under President Trump, dangerously close to renewed military involvement in the Middle East. Despite Trump’s clear desire to stay out of major combat, the conflict intensified after Israel struck a Hezbollah target in Beirut. In response, Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, urging restraint to preserve ongoing negotiations. However, Netanyahu proceeded with strikes targeting Iran's key petrochemical infrastructure and other sites in Tehran, highlighting deepening complexities in Middle East diplomacy.

President Trump acknowledged calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "crazy," expressing frustration that Israel's conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon has complicated U.S.-led peace negotiations with Iran. Despite the comment, Trump emphasized his strong working relationship with Netanyahu, labeling both as "wartime leaders." The conflict has become increasingly complex due to intertwined Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities and Iran’s insistence that any Iran ceasefire include Lebanon.

The recent exchange of missiles between Iran and Israel highlights diverging views between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump emphasized his dominant role in Middle East negotiations, stating, "I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots." This tension underscores the complex and conflicted relationship between the two leaders, which continues to undermine the fragile ceasefire in the region.

The latest eruption of hostilities between Iran and Israel appears to have been contained for now after Donald Trump insisted he called “all the shots” in the Middle East, but in a dangerously fragile region Benjamin Netanyahu has again shown he is ready to take shots of his own. The exchange of missiles on Sunday and Monday was ample demonstration of the inherent instability of the current limbo between war and peace, but it also shone a bright light on the complex and conflicted relationship between the US president and the Israeli prime minister, frenemies who could determine the fate of the current ceasefire.