Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alluded to a highly-publicized phone call between he and President Donald Trump in which Trump expressed displeasure with Netanyahu over Israeli strikes on Lebanon.
During a Wednesday interview with CNBC, Netanyahu refused to comment directly on the phone call, but alluded more broadly to "tactical disagreements" he has with Trump.
“Sometimes we have, as in the best of families, you have these tactical disagreements,” he told the outlet. He also added “we always find a way to work them out, and we do so as great friends.”
“We can disagree in the morning” and end up agreeing by afternoon, he told the outlet. He also said he and Trump "agree on the main things."
He also said Trump has been "the greatest friend to Israel" and said the pair speak every two days.
A Monday report from Axios alleged that Trump lambasted Netanyahu over ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon that threatened a peace deal between the U.S. and Lebanon. "You're f------ crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your a--. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this," Trump reportedly said.
In an interview published on Wednesday, Trump confirmed he expressed displeasure with Netanyahu over Lebanon on a phone call, though did not confirm the language reported by Axios.
"I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon. At some point I said 'Bibi, we gotta stop this. We gotta stop it,'" he told the New York Post's Miranda Devine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that he was hopeful that the second day of talks between the Lebanese and Israeli governments would produce a plan to secure Lebanon from the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah.
"As I speak to you now, for the second consecutive day, and for the first time in many, many years, the leaders of the legitimate government of Lebanon and leaders from the government of Israel for the second day in a row," Rubio said while appearing in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
"Hopefully today we'll produce a joint statement and an action plan on a track for security in that country, independent from Hezbollah , independent from nefarious influence," Rubio continued.
Rubio also revealed that the two sides had similar meetings last week at the Pentagon that were of the military nature.
Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in the south of Lebanon as well as limited strikes in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, threatened to derail a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran after Iranian leaders claimed they were shutting down diplomatic negotiations, citing the Israeli strikes on Lebanon.
On Tuesday the U.S. brokered a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, but, Rubio detailed Wednesday, Hezbollah broke that ceasefire.
"We had indications, multiple indications, that Israel may be considering conducting anti-Hezbollah strikes inside of Beirut. And at that moment we had reachout from the Lebanese authorities saying that Hezbollah had contacted them and said if Israel doesn't strike Beirut, that they would stop launching missiles into Israeli territory that they would stop launching missiles into Israeli territory. That's the message we got. And that's what the president pursued and said, okay, I had this outreach. If you won't do these strikes in Beirut, they'll stop launching against you in in northern Israel. Unfortunately, within an hour or two of that conversation, they launched two waves of rockets from Hezbollah against Israel and Israeli territory," Rubio revealed.
"One of the reasons why we're engaged in these talks between Lebanon and Israel is understanding that Hezbollah is not just an enemy of Israel. Hezbollah is an enemy of Lebanon. They are an enemy of the Lebanese government. They have called for the overthrow of the Lebanese government. When Lebanon expelled the Iranian ambassador, he refused to leave. He said 'I'm not leaving. You can't expel me. Hezbollah is protecting me.' So Hezbollah is not just a challenge to Israel. It's a challenge to Lebanon, to the Lebanese state and the Lebanese people. And we are hopeful that we can create a paradigm in which Lebanon's government and Israel can work together to disarm Hezbollah and allow the people of Lebanon to reclaim its country," Rubio said
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemned Iran's Wednesday strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain in a social media post, calling the attacks "flagrant Iranian aggression and blatant violation of the sovereignty of the brotherly Kingdom of Bahrain and the brotherly State of Kuwait."
"The Kingdom reiterates that these clear violations undermine international efforts to restore security and stability in the region," the statement, posted on X, continued.
"The Kingdom reaffirms its solidarity with the Kingdom of Bahrain and the State of Kuwait, and its full support for all measures they take to preserve their sovereignty, security, and stability. The Kingdom extends its condolences to the State of Kuwait and wishes the injured a speedy recovery," the statement concluded.
The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that the strikes, which hit Kuwait International Airport and other facilities, injured at least 63 and killed at least one person.
{{#rendered}}House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News on Wednesday that he would oppose a forthcoming vote on an Iran War Powers Resolution.
Johnson said he would "hope it doesn’t pass" in regards to legislation that could curtail President Donald Trump's power to enact strikes on Iran and require him to gain congressional approval for doing so.
On May 14, a House resolution directing the president "to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities against Iran or any part of its government or military" failed after a 212-212 tie in the House.
Three Republicans --- Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich. --- broke ranks with the party to support the resolution while one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, voted with Republicans.
A week later, Johnson and other House GOP leadership pulled a separate war powers vote after concluding they lacked the votes to defeat it. The resolution's support had grown, including from Golden, who had opposed an earlier version but said he would vote for the measure the next time it reached the floor.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., also weighed in Wednesday, telling Fox News' chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram, "I don’t know how it’s going to go... There are lot of people now seeing that (the war is) moving toward peace."
President Donald Trump confirmed reports of a tense phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's ongoing military action against the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
During an interview with Trump, the New York Post's Miranda Devine asked Trump to confirm details from a Monday Axios story detailing the phone call in which Trump reportedly told Netanyahu "You're f------ crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me."
Trump confirmed that he took issue with Netanyahu on the phone call, saying "I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon. At some point I said 'Bibi, we gotta stop this. We gotta stop it."
Iran had previously announced a cessation of all communication with U.S. negotiators, citing the Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
Following the phone call, the U.S. brokered a partial truce between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah , though Israel warned residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate on Wednesday, claiming the Israeli Defense Forces were preparing for an operation after claiming Hezbollah violated the ceasefire.
UNITED NATIONS: Romania’s foreign minister told Fox News Digital that Bucharest answered the Trump administration’s call for allied support in the Middle East by allowing the use of Romanian military bases for "defensive activities" related to tensions with Iran and efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
"We have allowed for access to defensive activities, such as air refueling, for example, because we do believe allies need to rely on each other," Romania’s interim Foreign Affairs Minister Oana-Silvia Ţoiu said in an exclusive interview at the United Nations.
"We’re not part of the war, nor do we intend to become part of war, but we are part of an effort to ensure common defense, and we are a part of a diplomatic effort to ensure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz," she said.
This is an excerpt from a story by Efrat Lachter.
{{#rendered}}Kuwait decried Iranian attacks in a statement issued by its foreign affairs ministry, saying that the Kuwait International Airport had been targeted.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the State of Kuwait 's condemnation and denunciation, in the strongest terms, of the brutal and ongoing Iranian attacks using ballistic missiles and drones, the latest of which occurred at dawn today, targeting once again civilian and vital facilities, including Kuwait International Airport, resulting in the death of one individual, injuries to others, and damage to vital facilities, including diplomatic missions," part of the statement declared, according to a translation of the Arabic-language post on X.
Kuwait 's Ministry of Defense spokesperson had indicated that a building at Kuwait International Airport was damaged and people were injured, according to a post on X by the official account of Kuwait Army general staff headquarters.
This is an excerpt from a story by Alex Nitzberg.
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