President of the United States of America Donald Trump had a “tense” phone call with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, CNN reports on Friday. According to CNN, quoting an anonymous source close to the issue from both sides, the call occurred just before the announcement by Israel to begin negotiations directly with Lebanon for a ceasefire. The Israeli official said that Netanyahu had been made aware of the fact that unless he asked for ceasefire negotiations with Lebanon, Trump could unilaterally declare a ceasefire.
Trump-Netanyahu Phone Call Turns ‘Tense’
This was the third of such phone calls during the current week involving Lebanon, CNN says.
On an earlier day in the week, the two leaders discussed the two-week ceasefire announced by Trump with Iran. According to reports, Netanyahu suggested that Lebanon should be excluded from the package deal.
CNN further notes that a day after this development, Trump urged Netanyahu to curtail his offensive operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, amid reports by the health officials of Lebanon that 303 people had been killed during the Israeli offensive.
Netanyahu’s office denied such claims of tension between both leaders, terming it “fake news” and stating that it was a “friendly” discussion. “Both leaders are working fully in coordination and mutual respect,” the office stated, per CNN.
When did the ceasefire take place?
On 8 April 2026, both the US and Iran declared a ceasefire agreement lasting two weeks for the 2026 Iran war, which was facilitated by Pakistan. The proposal put forward by Iran for a two-phase ceasefire lasting 45 days by Pakistan on 5 April was declined by Iran.
Trump and Netanyahu’s previous calls
This was the third conversation that had taken place this week between the two leaders on matters relating to Lebanon. In one conversation held on Tuesday, before Trump’s declaration of his two-week ceasefire plan that involved Iran, Trump and Netanyahu also discussed.
In this conversation, Netanyahu advised Trump to treat Lebanon separately in the context of the ceasefire talks related to Iran.
