Netanyahu dismisses rift with US, calls stopping Iran's nuclear program 'shared goal'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has flatly denied reports of a rift between Israel and the United States, including over Iran.

Speaking via video link on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" on Sunday (local time), Netanyahu was asked whether there was a crack in the relationship between the two countries. "I don't think so," he said.

"America calls us an 'exemplary ally,'" he said. "Many countries are called allies, but we are an ally that actually fights together."

He said the key question was whether the US and Israel had different objectives regarding Iran. "The answer is no. We share the same goal. We want Iran to give up its nuclear weapons program and dismantle its nuclear fuel enrichment facilities," he said.

Netanyahu also praised US President Donald Trump as "the greatest friend we have" among all American presidents.

Earlier, Trump had called Netanyahu and reacted furiously — saying he was "crazy" and that Netanyahu "would be in jail" if not for him — after Israel bombed Lebanon, targeting the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, while US-Iran peace negotiations were underway.

In a phone interview with Axios on Sunday, Trump said the two leaders were "getting along very well" and that Netanyahu "knows who the boss is." Trump added that Netanyahu had proposed a White House meeting, which could take place as early as the week after the NATO summit.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu said in the same interview that some Christian villages in southern Lebanon had asked to be annexed by Israel.

He said Israel had received such requests because it protects those villages from "Hezbollah fanatics," adding, "Whatever Christians are there, we will protect them equally."