Trump confirms calling Netanyahu 'crazy,' says Israel is blocking Iran peace talks

President Trump confirmed Wednesday he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "crazy" in a heated phone call, saying Israel's ongoing military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon is obstructing U.S.-led efforts to reach a peace deal with Iran.

The remarks highlight growing friction between Washington and its closest Middle East ally as four months of fighting have killed 3,468 people in Lebanon and displaced 1.2 million — with the Strait of Hormuz blockade pushing energy prices higher at a politically sensitive moment for Republicans ahead of midterm elections.

Trump made the comments in an interview with The New York Post's "Pod Force One" podcast, describing a Monday phone call with Netanyahu that included expletives and reflected his sharp frustration over Israel's continued operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Despite the exchange, Trump stressed that the two leaders remain aligned. "We've worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him," Trump told the Post.

The president said Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is personally engaged in the peace process and commands broad deference within the country. "They have a lot of respect for him," Trump said, according to the Post.

Asked when the Strait of Hormuz — a vital artery for global oil — might reopen, Trump offered a cautiously optimistic but noncommittal answer. "I don't know. I mean, I think it could be (closed through Labor Day), but I think it's unlikely. I think that we'll have it. I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly," he told the Post.

Israel launched an invasion of southern Lebanon after Hezbollah attacks on March 2, triggering four months of fighting that have also killed 27 Israeli soldiers and defense contractors and two civilians in northern Israel. Israel and Lebanon reached a U.S.-brokered agreement Monday limiting Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, a step mediators hope can anchor a lasting truce. Negotiations between the two sides are proceeding in Washington.

The volatile security picture was underscored Wednesday when Iranian drones struck Kuwait's main airport, killing one person — the latest escalation complicating the broader diplomatic effort.

Washington and Beirut are pressing to convert the fragile ceasefire into a formal agreement, but Trump's public rebuke of Netanyahu and the drone strike on Kuwait's airport signal that a durable settlement in the region remains elusive.