Trump says Netanyahu ‘has no f**king judgment’ after Beirut strike – report

US President Donald Trump lashed out at Israel on Sunday after the IDF struck a Hezbollah target in Beirut, angering Tehran and potentially risking the deal Washington is trying to finalize with it.

Reportedly accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of having “no fucking judgment,” the president also declared that the IDF should be prevented from carrying out any more attacks on any part of Lebanon moving forward, not just Beirut. The suggestion was said to raise concerns among Israeli officials that the prospective US-Iran deal could sharply curb Israel’s military freedom of action.

“This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a peace deal with Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump has repeatedly declared that the deal with Iran will be signed on Sunday, despite Tehran indicating that it has not yet made a final decision as to whether to sign.

“Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured or killed and should not disrupt this important process,” Trump continued, suggesting that Israel overreacted by targeting Beirut in response to a Hezbollah attack on northern Israel.

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“We are very close to a deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down,” he reiterated, adding: “There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel.”

The US president notably suggested that the MOU with Iran would include guarantees that Israel stop its offensive across all of Lebanon and not just Beirut, after Israeli officials signaled they would only comply with refraining from targeting the capital, but would continue operations deep in southern Lebanon.

“This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace — Let’s not blow it!” he added.

According to Channel 12, the primary concern within Israel’s political and security establishment is that Washington could significantly curtail the IDF’s freedom of action in Lebanon if the deal with Iran includes a complete halt to Israeli military activity throughout the country, not just in Beirut.

The report added that Trump proposed during one of his recent conversations with Netanyahu that Israel withdraw physically from southern Lebanon as part of the broader understandings being discussed with Iran. Netanyahu reportedly rejected the idea outright, arguing that it would serve neither Israeli nor American interests.

Trump reportedly took a more belligerent tone than he had on Truth Social in a phone call with Axios later on Sunday, revealing that he spoke to Netanyahu after the strike in Beirut and informed the Israeli premier that “he has no fucking judgment.”

“Why did Bibi have to do a fucking attack?” Trump said. “I was so pissed off. I let him know. He has no fucking judgement. I let him know that.”

The president told Axios that the deal with Iran would have already been signed if it were not for the strike on Beirut.

“It shook it up,” he said. “It delayed the signing by a few hours. It was supposed to be now. Now it is scheduled for a few hours from now.”

“It is so bad,” Trump continued. “I couldn’t believe it. An hour before we are supposed to sign the deal.”

Like Trump, Iran has painted Israel’s attack on Beirut as a threat to the emerging deal with Washington, with top negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf declaring it proof that the US “either lacks the will to fulfill its commitments or the ability to do so.”

Senior Iranian parliament member Ebrahim Rezaei similarly said the US must “discipline the Zionist regime” if it wishes to make a deal, and compared Israel to a “rabid dog” that must be controlled.

Israeli officials reportedly reacted with alarm to Trump’s comments and the intensity of his verbal attack on Netanyahu, with a senior official close to the premier telling Channel 12 that they left Jerusalem “stunned.”

“Trump’s statement is a resounding slap in the face. The restrictions [on Israel] have been taken to another level,” the official said. “The expectation that we will not strike anywhere in Lebanon is incompatible with the behavior of a strategic ally.”

Another official speaking to the Ynet news outlet accused the US of “trying to normalize firing at Israel.”

Not everyone agreed with Trump’s approach in Washington, either.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina took to X to urge the US to put itself in Israel’s shoes, and “understand who we are dealing with” when negotiating with Iran and dealing with Hezbollah.

“Since the latest ceasefire, Hezbollah has been unrelenting in their attacks against Israel to the point there are areas in northern Israel that have been evacuated because of the constant attacks,” wrote Graham, a staunch ally of both Trump and Israel. “What would America do in a similar situation?”

It was not clear what Graham was referring to, as no areas in northern Israel have been evacuated since fighting against Hezbollah renewed in March. Many communities have nevertheless shrunk significantly over the past two years, with many residents choosing not to return following the previous round of conflict that erupted in October 2023.

While I hope and pray that a diplomatic solution to end the Iranian conflict and deny Iran the ability to produce a nuclear weapon and stop their reign of terror on the region may be at hand, we still must understand who we are dealing with.

Since the latest ceasefire,…

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 14, 2026

According to Channel 12, officials in Washington spent the better part of Sunday afternoon pressing Israel not to escalate tensions with Iran, while promising to do everything possible to prevent Iranian attacks on Israel. The American message, according to the report, was that even if Iran does strike, Israel should avoid any response that could jeopardize the MOU being negotiated between Washington and Tehran.

Israel’s political leadership has been briefed on the “credible possibility” of upcoming missile fire from Iran, perhaps before midnight, according to the report.

In a bid to avoid this, Israeli officials communicating with Washington said Trump had offered Iran a financial incentive to stand down from its threat to attack Israel.

The sources said intensive negotiations were underway on the matter, and offered two contradictory reports within minutes of each other, first claiming Iran had rejected the offer of a financial incentive, then claiming it was still considering the offer.

Iran gave no public signs of being swayed by US sweet-talking, with the country’s highest national security body warning that a response against Israel was “imminent.”

תיעוד: המרחב האווירי של איראן סגור לחלוטין@ndvori pic.twitter.com/kJ3pHjwHrK

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) June 14, 2026

Airspace over the Islamic Republic also appeared to have closed shortly before 10 p.m., according to flight traffic data.

The country’s semi-official Tasnim news agency announced that flights in the west of the country had been canceled until further notice, “in light of the current situation.”