Trump says he could run for office in Israel before ‘tense’ call with Netanyahu

Donald Trump has bragged about potentially running Israel before a rather tense phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, he said: ‘Right now I’m at 99% (approval) in Israel, I could run for prime minister.

‘So maybe after I do this I’ll go to Israel and run for prime minister.’

It’s not clear which poll the President was referencing when he said he was soaring with approval ratings in Israel.

Later in the day, Trump and Netanyahu spoke on the phone in what was called a ‘dramatic and lengthy’ call about the war in Iran.

Trump has been pushing hard to ensure any peace agreement with Iran involves abolishing Tehran’s nuclear weapons programme.

Israel, however, has argued that further strikes against Iran are necessary and doubts a peace deal is on the table without them.

One source told Axios that Netanyahu’s ‘hair was on fire’ after the angry phone call.

Meanwhile, Israel is still embroiled in conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, even after a ceasefire was announced on April 17.

Israel invaded southern Lebanon and bombarded the capital, Beirut, and other areas, saying it was targeting Hezbollah efforts to rearm.

Hezbollah, also a powerful political entity in Lebanon, has resisted pressure, including by the Lebanese government, to disarm.

More than a million people have been displaced in Lebanon by the fighting, with some sheltering in tents along roads and the sea in Beirut.

Israeli officials have focused on disarming Hezbollah and described the negotiations as a precursor to a potential normalisation of diplomatic relations.

The death toll in the latest round of fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has surpassed 3,000, Lebanon’s health ministry has said.

The ministry said the toll was now 3,020 in the fighting that has not stopped despite a fragile ceasefire, including 292 women and 211 children.

Fighting began on March 2 with the Hezbollah militant group firing at Israel, two days after the US and Israel attacked Iran.

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