US President Donald Trump acknowledged a tense exchange with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he was unhappy with Israel’s continued fighting in Lebanon.
“I did,” Trump said when asked about the exchange in an interview on the New York Post’s Pod Force One podcast.
“I wouldn’t say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon, you know.”
Trump on Axios report that he told Netanyahu "you're f*cking crazy":
— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 3, 2026
I did. I always get angry.
I was a little bit perturbed at him, constantly fighting with Lebanon….
You know, at some point I said we're going to stop this. pic.twitter.com/4c6Tpo1GkZ
Meanwhile, the US president claimed has agreed to abandon its nuclear weapons.
“We can’t let them have a nuclear weapon, and they’ve already agreed they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. That was the big thing,” Trump said.
The US president dismissed suggestions that Iran holds the upper hand in the conflict. “Iran has no navy. They have no air force. They have very few soldiers. They have no leadership, no leadership,” he said.
“Their economy is crashing. They have 250 percent inflation. They have everything that you can have that’s bad.”
On the Strait of Hormuz blockade, Trump said he did not expect it to remain for much longer. “I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly,” he said, adding the US is having “a very great success in Iran militarily”.
Asked about Iran’s new leadership, Trump confirmed Supreme Leader Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei is involved in negotiations. “He’s involved, absolutely.”
❗️ Trump Claims Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ‘Involved’ in Talks and 'Giving Approval to Decisions' – NYP ‘Pod Force One’ Podcast pic.twitter.com/oNn79hbk94
— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 3, 2026
“They say he is giving approval because that’s the way it has been for a long, long time. His father and then him, I guess it’s a succession. But we seem to be getting along quite well. We probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out.”
“I’m the One Who Started” Iran War
On the other hand, Trump rejected suggestions that Netanyahu manipulated him into launching the war on Iran saying the decision was “entirely his own.”
“He tricked me? I’m the one that started it,” Trump said on Pod Force One, adding he acted because “we can’t let them have a nuclear weapon”.
Trump disagrees that Netanyahu 'tricked' him into Iran war
— RT (@RT_com) June 3, 2026
'I mean, I'm the one that started it. I started it because we can't let them have a nuclear weapon'
'There would be no Israel if there wasn't me'https://t.co/hjCNxPzoVf pic.twitter.com/5lL5HSXojr
Trump attributed the claims to political opponents. “They’re just the Dumbocrats. These are people that don’t know what they’re doing,” he said, referring to Democrats.
The US president said his ‘concern’ over Iran’s nuclear program dated back to his first term when he withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated under the administration of President Barack Obama.
“That pertains to Israel because they probably would have been the first one to get hit. I’ll tell you what, if it wasn’t for me there would be no Israel right now.”
Source: Agencies (edited by Al-Manar)