Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump remains intact despite reports of a tense phone call between the two leaders over Israel’s military actions in Lebanon.
“We have common goals,” Netanyahu told CNBC. “Sometimes we have, as in the best of families, these tactical disagreements where you always find a way to work them out … We can disagree in the morning, and by the afternoon we have common action.”
Asked directly whether his relationship with Trump had shifted, Netanyahu replied: “No, no. This has been a great relationship.” He called Trump “the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House” and said the two leaders “always find a way to work out our differences.”
The comments come after Trump acknowledged reports that he called Netanyahu “f-ing crazy” during a phone exchange focused on fighting in Lebanon.
The comments come as investors monitor U.S.-Iran negotiations for clues about future sanctions, oil exports and geopolitical risk in the Middle East.
Netanyahu also downplayed concerns that disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz could create a lasting energy shock. Drawing a comparison to the 1973 Arab oil embargo, he argued that markets would adapt by developing new supply routes and energy sources.
“People are going to develop alternative sources, and they’re already developing alternative routes,” he said.
Netanyahu pointed to existing efforts to move energy exports through routes outside the Persian Gulf and said higher production from other suppliers could offset disruptions. “There are many things you can do,” he said, predicting that countries in Asia, Europe and elsewhere would accelerate efforts to diversify energy supplies.
His remarks suggest Israel’s government expects any market impact from tensions with Iran to be mitigated over time by shifts in global energy trade, even as traders continue to watch developments in the Gulf for potential effects on oil prices and shipping routes.