United States President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered sharply differing accounts of a phone conversation on Monday, June 1, regarding Israel’s military operations in Lebanon.
Trump claimed he had persuaded Netanyahu to halt a planned major military operation in Beirut, while Netanyahu publicly maintained that Israel’s position on attacks in Lebanon remained unchanged.
Trump says he urged restraint
Posting on Truth Social, Trump said he had spoken to Netanyahu and asked him not to launch a major raid on Beirut.
“I had a conversation with Bibi Netanyahu today, asking him not to go into major raid of Beirut, Lebanon. He turned his troops around, thank you Bibi,” Trump wrote.
The US President also claimed he had spoken to representatives of Hezbollah, who assured him there would be no further attacks on Israel. “Hopefully it will last for eternity,” Trump added.
Netanyahu says Israel’s position remains unchanged
Hours earlier, Netanyahu appeared to contradict Trump’s account in a post on X.
“Tonight, I spoke with President Trump and told him if Hezbollah doesn’t cease attacking our cities, Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut. This stance of ours remains unchanged,” Netanyahu wrote.
He also said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would continue military operations in southern Lebanon.
שוחחתי הערב עם הנשיא טראמפ ואמרתי לו שאם חיזבאללה לא יחדל לתקוף את ערינו ואזרחינו – ישראל תתקוף מטרות טרור בביירות.עמדתנו זו עומדת בעינה.במקביל, צה״ל ימשיך לפעול כמתוכנן בדרום לבנון.— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) June 1, 2026
The conversation between the two leaders came after Netanyahu ordered attacks on Lebanon on Monday.
In a joint statement, Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were launched after Hezbollah allegedly violated the ceasefire through rocket and drone attacks targeting northern Israeli cities.
Israel’s Channel 12 News reported that the decision followed US approval for Israel to expand its military activity in Lebanon. According to the report, operations that had initially focused on southern Lebanon were expanded to include airstrikes in Beirut, Xinhua reported.
The developments come amid continued regional tensions despite a truce that has been in place for nearly two months.
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Trump says not informed of negotiation suspension
Earlier, Trump told NBC News that he had not been informed in advance about a decision to suspend negotiations, but said he had no objection to the talks ending.
“I think it’s fine if they’re done talking,” Trump said in a brief telephone interview with NBC News. “It’s an appropriate thing to say, because they’re better negotiators than they are fighters,” he added.
“But they haven’t informed us of that. It doesn’t mean we’re going to go and start dropping bombs all over there.”
The remarks came after the US military and Iran exchanged strikes over the weekend and into Monday, raising concerns about the durability of the fragile truce in the region.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued military operations in Lebanon. Over the weekend, Israeli forces carried out their deepest incursion into the country in 26 years.
Also ReadNegotiations with Iran continue at fast pace, says Donald Trump
(With inputs from agencies)
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