BEIRUT (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump acknowledged criticizing Israeli Prime Minister as 鈥渃razy鈥� in a phone call that involved expletives, saying he was 鈥渁 little bit perturbed鈥� that militants in Lebanon was holding back peace talks with Iran.
But even as the U.S. president conceded the tensions in an interview released Wednesday, he insisted that his relationship with Netanyahu was solid and that they connected, in part, because they are both 鈥渨artime鈥� leaders.
鈥淲e鈥檝e worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,鈥� Trump told The New York Post鈥檚 鈥淧od Force One.鈥�
In an , Netanyahu responded that he and Trump sometimes have 鈥渢actical disagreements鈥� but have 鈥渃ommon goals鈥� and 鈥渁gree on the main things.鈥�
鈥淗e respects me. I respect him. We always find a way to work out our differences,鈥� the prime minister said.
The president’s comments about the Monday call offered a sign of the growing pressure he faces to resolve the Iran war as and economic uncertainty threaten Republican prospects in the midterm elections and hamper global commerce.
and have been strained by with the Iranian-backed militia group in . The conflicts have become increasingly intertwined as Iran insists that any potential truce in the war there must also quell the fighting in Lebanon.
Israel, Lebanon renew ceasefire
Israel and Lebanon agreed Wednesday to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of 鈥減ilot鈥� security zones inside Lebanon from which Hezbollah militants would be banned.
In a joint statement released after a fourth round of U.S.-mediated talks at the State Department, the two sides said the ceasefire 鈥渋s contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives鈥� from areas south of the Litani River, which is roughly 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the northern Israel-Lebanon border. It was not immediately clear how the security zones would be established but the agreement calls for the Lebanese army to take full control of those areas.
鈥淭hese steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淎ll countries reaffirmed that the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments. They rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon鈥檚 future hostage.鈥�
Hezbollah is not part of the Israel-Lebanon talks, which have been held at the ambassadorial level in Washington since the beginning of last month.
鈥淎ll parties condemned 滨谤补苍鈥檚 attacks on countries in the region, and ongoing activities that undermine stability throughout the Middle East, whether through support for proxies and all other acts of aggression,鈥� the statement said.
A new round of discussions will be held during the week of June 22 with an eye toward 鈥渞eaching a comprehensive agreement.鈥�
Trump does not commit to timeline for ending Iran war
Trump remained noncommittal about a timeline for settling the Iran conflict, saying the might stay blocked through the Labor Day holiday on Sept. 7. He has insisted that Iran stop any efforts that could lead to a nuclear weapon and that the strait be reopened for shipments of oil and natural gas.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know. I mean, I think it could be (closed through Labor Day), but I think it鈥檚 unlikely. I think that we鈥檒l have it. I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly,鈥� Trump said.
滨谤补苍鈥檚 , who succeeded his late father, is 鈥渋nvolved鈥� in peace talks, Trump added.
鈥淭hey have a lot of respect for him,鈥� the president said in the interview.
Trump said that Khamenei is not doing well due to wounds sustained in an airstrike, but 鈥渢hey say he鈥檚 giving approval because that鈥檚 the way it has been for a long, long time.” Khamenei’s in an airstrike when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House for the first time that would halt the U.S. military action against Iran, defying Trump as a handful of Republicans joined with Democrats to end the conflict.
The roll call Wednesday was 215-208, but the next steps are uncertain. Trump would likely reject any measure from Congress to limit his commander-in-chief authority.
Path to a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon is obscured by new strikes
The path toward a lasting ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah remained unclear as hostilities continued in Lebanon.
An Israeli strike Wednesday hit a car on a busy highway just south of Beirut. The strike in Khaldeh came without warning, and it was not immediately clear if the person targeted was killed.
Israel and Lebanon on Monday reached a U.S.-brokered agreement in which Israel would not strike and Hezbollah would end its attacks on northern Israel.
The agreement was made hours after Israel announced that it was going to launch strikes across the sprawling urban neighborhoods near the Lebanese capital in what would have been the most intense strikes since a nominal ceasefire went into effect on April 17.
Lebanon hopes to widen the scope of the ceasefire so it becomes comprehensive across the country. Israel wants to disarm Hezbollah immediately before the Israeli military ends its operations in Lebanon and withdraws its troops from dozens of villages and towns.
Israeli military warning rattles coastal city
Israeli strikes over southern Lebanon continued, especially in and around the battered cities of Tyre and Nabatiyeh. Two overnight strikes near Tyre, a coastal city, killed four Syrians and two Palestinians.
Israel warned the Christian neighborhoods in Tyre that Hezbollah members were among them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to those areas in recent days because they were spared from the aerial bombardment along the Mediterranean coast.
After the warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian district of Tyre in an effort to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed presence in the area.
Israel launched an invasion of southern Lebanon days after the latest war was sparked on March 2, when Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets toward northern Israel in solidarity with Iran. Israeli troops have pushed deeper into Lebanon over the past week, as Hezbollah continues to claim rocket and drone attacks.
The latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has killed 3,468 people in Lebanon and displaced . According to Netanyahu鈥檚 office, at least 27 Israeli soldiers and a defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon. Two civilians have also been killed in northern Israel.
Strike on village kills most of a family
Many residents of southern Lebanon remained in villages near the hostilities or returned to areas where strikes occurred after evacuation warnings.
The Al-Abdallah family returned to their home in Marwaniyeh, which they left because they thought the village was unsafe following earlier strikes. A day later, two rockets hit the home, bringing down the three-story building and killing six family members, said the brother of Hassan Al-Abdallah, who was killed.
Ahmed Al-Abdallah, 13, was thrown away from the building by the force of the blasts and was the only member of his family to survive. His uncle, Eissa Al-Abdallah, said the boy has two broken legs and shrapnel wounds all over his body.
鈥淲hat good is talking now? They are gone, and nothing will bring them back,鈥� the uncle told The Associated Press in a phone call Tuesday. 鈥淭his land costs blood.鈥�
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Boak and Lee reported from Washington.
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This version has been updated to correct that the Iran war began at the end of February, not March.
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