Netanyahu’s Office Calls Reports of “Shouting Match From Hell” With Trump Over Iran “Fake News”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has rejected as “fake news, complete nonsense” accounts that he and President Donald Trump engaged in a heated weekend phone call over the Iran conflict that one source described as a “shouting match from hell.”

The reports originated with Israeli outlet Ynet (the English-language site of Yedioth Ahronoth), which cited unnamed sources familiar with the conversation. Those sources said the call focused on whether to resume military strikes against Iran and described the exchange as unusually difficult and heated. Netanyahu’s office responded directly to Ynet by dismissing the characterization. A senior Israeli official separately confirmed that the leaders spoke over the weekend but stated that the discussion was “very much not a difficult conversation.”

The differing public positions of the two leaders on next steps regarding Iran have been reported for some time. Netanyahu has argued that Iran’s nuclear threat cannot be permanently eliminated without regime change in Tehran. Speaking during the swearing-in of Israel’s 26th Knesset on Tuesday, he said Iran was working to rebuild its nuclear capabilities and that “the only way to permanently remove this existential threat is by toppling the ayatollah regime.” He also referenced expected international pressure on Israel regarding security arrangements.

President Trump has publicly indicated that renewed large-scale military action does not currently appear necessary while contacts continue. On Monday, after meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Trump told reporters that resuming military action “doesn’t seem to be a very necessary thing” at this point, while adding that U.S. forces remain “locked and loaded.” He has described positive momentum in talks mediated in part through Doha. In a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday, Trump said he was not looking to escalate and did not see a reason to do so immediately, while defending the original decision to strike Iran over its nuclear program.

A Financial Times report cited by Ynet and other outlets stated that Netanyahu has contacted Trump frequently to urge a resumption of military operations, a claim that has drawn concern from some regional leaders who favor continued diplomacy. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described the negotiations as not yet productive, noting that Iranian demands have in some cases been “unacceptable” and “not realistic.”

No official transcript or detailed readout of the weekend call has been released by either government. The Prime Minister’s Office and the senior Israeli official are the only named Israeli sources quoted in the reporting, and both rejected the “shouting match” description. The episode follows earlier public and reported differences between the U.S. and Israeli positions on the timing and objectives of action against Iran’s nuclear program.