US President Donald Trump said in an interview that Israel would have been 'eviscerated' without his support, describing his ties with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as 'good', while adding that the Israeli PM needed to be 'kept sane.'
In an interview with Axios, Trump said Israel 'does as I say' when asked if he could control Israel and prevent it from launching more attacks on Lebanon. A day later, Israel violated ceasefire and struck Lebanon, killing at least five people.
Trump referred to the previous US policy on Iran after the memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at ending hostilities in West Asia was signed, criticising the nuclear deal with Iran, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
He said that Israel would 'not exist' if not for him, claiming Iran was only a month away from obtaining nuclear weapons using enriched material and would have used such weapons against Israel.
Israeli strikes targeted southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing five people, a day after the agreement came into effect.
