Washington, June 2: US President Donald Trump sharply criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a tense telephone conversation on Monday, reportedly blaming Israel’s actions in Lebanon for growing international hostility towards the country, according to Axios. 

The exchange came after Iran warned earlier in the day that it could suspend diplomatic engagement with Washington because of ongoing military operations in Lebanon.

According to Axios, Trump intervened forcefully during the call and at one stage yelled at Netanyahu: "What the f* are you doing?"**

A US official cited in the report said Trump was deeply frustrated by what he viewed as a disproportionate Israeli military response to Hezbollah attacks on Israel.

Trump objects to Lebanon operations

Axios reported that Trump strongly opposed the destruction of entire buildings to target a single Hezbollah commander. He also objected to what the report described as escalating Israeli threats towards Beirut.

Another source familiar with the discussion told Axios that part of Trump’s message to Netanyahu was: "everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this."

Following the call, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying Israel’s position "remains the same".

However, a US official told Axios that Trump had effectively "steamrolled" the Israeli prime minister during the conversation.

Axios quoted the official as saying: "Bibi said, 'OK, OK, just make sure everything is taken care of.'"

Administration officials describe call as unusually tense

A separate administration official told Axios that the exchange was among the worst conversations between Trump and Netanyahu since the start of Trump’s second term as president.

After the call, Trump posted on Truth Social about the outcome of the discussion.

He said Netanyahu had "turned his Troops around" after he had specifically asked the Israeli leader "not to go into a major raid of Beirut".

In a separate post, Trump said diplomatic engagement with Iran was continuing despite the disagreement with Israel.

He wrote that talks with Iran were moving forward "at a rapid pace".