Trump and Netanyahu had 'tense' call before Israel moved on Lebanon talks: report

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held what CNN described as a tense phone conversation on Thursday, shortly before Israel said it would pursue direct ceasefire talks with Lebanon.

The report, published by CNN on Friday and cited by Express Tribune, said the account was based on a US source and an Israeli source familiar with the matter.

According to CNN, the Israeli source said Netanyahu came to believe that if he did not move to call for direct talks with Lebanon, Trump could go ahead and announce a ceasefire on his own.

The conversation was at least the third exchange between the two leaders this week in which Lebanon was a major subject.

Lebanon featured repeatedly in recent contacts

Earlier in the week, Trump and Netanyahu also spoke before Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran. During that discussion, Netanyahu reportedly pressed for Lebanon not to be brought under the wider arrangement.

CNN further reported that a day later, Trump urged Netanyahu to reduce Israeli attacks targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon. That came after Lebanese health authorities reported that 303 people had been killed in Israeli strikes.

The sequence of calls suggested that Lebanon had become a central issue in contacts between Washington and Tel Aviv over the course of the week.

Netanyahu office rejects account of friction

Netanyahu’s office denied reports that the latest exchange had been strained. It rejected the suggestion that the call was tense and said the conversation had instead been cordial.

The office said this was a more accurate description of the call.

“The two leaders are working in full coordination and with mutual respect,”Netanyahu’s office said, according to CNN.

It did, however, place the conversation in the context of repeated discussions this week over Lebanon, Iran and the scope of ceasefire efforts.

Israel’s subsequent announcement that it would seek direct ceasefire talks with Lebanon came soon after the Thursday call.