Vice President JD Vance criticized Israeli officials for their public response to President Donald Trump’s Iran agreement. He urged Israeli leaders to recognize what he described as the country’s growing international isolation. Vance’s remarks came after several senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government publicly criticized the agreement that President Trump signed with Iran earlier this week. The agreement is a 14-point memorandum of understanding that begins a 60-day negotiation period on Iran’s nuclear program.
JD Vance slams Israel for criticising Donald Trump’s Iran deal
Speaking at the White House briefing room on Thursday, JD Vance addressed Israel’s criticism of the Iran agreement. “If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,” he said.
He also said that two-thirds of the weapons used in Israel’s defense over the past three months had been funded by American taxpayers. “Anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in,” Vance said. He added, “Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time.”
The warning is one of the most direct public confrontations between Washington and its closest Middle East ally in recent memory. It reflects growing tensions between the two governments. It escalates a rift that began after a preliminary ceasefire in April. At the time, Netanyahu pushed to continue military operations while Trump sought to wind down a war that had rattled the global economy and proved unpopular at home.
The U.S. military confirmed on Thursday that it had lifted its blockade of Iranian ports. Negotiations between the United States and Iran are expected to begin in Switzerland in the coming days. However, the White House announced later that evening that Vance would not be traveling there immediately.
The agreement has also drawn criticism from some Republican lawmakers and allies, in addition to Israeli officials. Critics argue that it makes too many concessions to Tehran.
