JD Vance Warns Israeli Officials Against Attacking Trump’s Iran Peace Deal

U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned Israeli officials Thursday against attacking the Trump administration’s Iran peace deal, saying, "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."

“Al-Araby Al-Jadeed U”

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Vance told reporters at the White House that over the last three months, "two-thirds of the defensive weapons that protected your homeland have been built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars," as the dispute with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spilled into public.

Al Jazeera

The Hill described Vance’s remarks as a response to a question about an Axios report that Netanyahu was "fuming" over a memorandum of understanding signed by the U.S. and Iran.

In parallel, Ynetnews said Israel was stunned by Vance’s criticism of cabinet ministers and chose not to fire back or respond emotionally to avoid widening the rift with President Donald Trump.

Ynetnews also quoted Netanyahu at the inauguration ceremony for the Bible Road, saying, "In Lebanon, we pushed the threat of a ground invasion away from our communities and broke Hezbollah’s missile power."

Vance’s message to Israel was framed as a demand to stop criticizing the Iran memorandum, with The Independent reporting that he delivered a veiled warning that Israeli officials could "risk losing American military aid."

The Independent also quoted Vance saying he was "bothered" by "people within the Israeli cabinet who have come out and attacked the deal" and "in some ways very personally attacked the President of the United States."

Haaretz

Time Magazine reported that Vance told reporters the remarks were the most public display of how the Trump administration’s relationship with Israeli leadership had grown "increasingly acrimonious" since the U.S. and Israel jointly launched a war against Iran nearly four months ago.

Al Jazeera reported Vance’s sharper line in an interview with The New York Times, where he said, "What is your exact proposal? You’re a country of nine million people. You can’t just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem."

Haaretz added that Vance rebuked Netanyahu’s cabinet ministers for "attacking the only powerful ally" Israel has left, while also noting Vance said reports Netanyahu was "fuming" were not reflective of conversations he had with him.

The stakes of Vance’s warning were tied to the terms of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, which The Jerusalem Post said begins a "60-day" period and that "the 60-day period officially started today."

The Jerusalem Post quoted Vance saying that under the MoU, "What is the benefit that the Iranians get that they didn’t have before? The answer is nothing," and that "If they don’t change their behavior, they don’t get the benefit of the bargain."

Al Jazeera said the MoU opens the Strait of Hormuz, lifts the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, and pledges to end fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, while also reporting that Vance called on Israel to let negotiations play out.

In the same Al Jazeera report, Vance said the administration’s war had created more favorable circumstances, arguing, "If the Iranians don’t change their behaviour, their military and their nuclear programme is still destroyed."

Ynetnews added that Netanyahu’s instruction to the IDF was to prepare for possible action against Iran alone, while Netanyahu said Israel would preserve the security zone in southern Lebanon as long as Hezbollah does not move north of the Litani River.