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<\/a><\/p>\nVice President JD Vance speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 18, 2026. (Mehmet Eser\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cDonald 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,\u201d Vance said, adding, \u201cIf 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vance\u2019s words heightened the growing rift between the two staunch allies over the war with Iran they jointly launched on Feb. 28, with the U.S. fearing that a protracted campaign would lead to a worse outcome and Israel certain that a premature end to the war posed an existential threat.<\/p>\n
The vice president spoke the morning after Trump signed a paper copy of the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding with Iran at the Palace of Versailles in France, following his signing of a digital version on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Responding to criticism in Israel of Trump\u2019s actions on Iran, Vance retorted, \u201cThe problem for Israel is not Donald J. Trump. And 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deal halts hostilities between Iran and the United States and opens the Straits of Hormuz, extending by 60 days the shaky ceasefire that has been in place since April 8 to allow for negotiations on a permanent agreement. It is based on a carrot-and-stick approach in which Iran would receive billions of dollars at the end of the process if Tehran pledged to never procure or produce nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n
The memorandum, however, is short on details about compliance and provides for immediate economic relief for the Islamic Republic through the lifting of waivers on the sale of oil and the lifting of sanctions against Iran. It also demands an end to the ongoing war in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
Israel fears the terms of the deal only empower the Islamic Republic, shoring it up from collapse and providing it with funds to develop nuclear weapons and provide military support to its proxy groups, while at the same time preventing Israel from defending itself against Hezbollah. Trump\u2019s comments on Wednesday that Iran would be able to retain \u201csome\u201d ballistic missiles only further added to Israeli unease.<\/p>\n
Vance defended Trump\u2019s stance on ballistic missiles, saying that the country\u2019s stockpile and its launchers had been heavily depleted during the war and adding that Iran had a right to conventional weapons. \u201cYou can\u2019t tell a country, whether Israel or Iran, they\u2019re not allowed to have any self-defense,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we do expect that as part of the final deal, they are not gonna be able to build the kind of missiles that can broadly threaten the entire world,\u201d Vance said, as he said that Iran would only receive financial and other benefits under the deal if it agreed to its terms, including halting its pursuit of nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The New York Times published on Thursday, Vance said he found the \u201cweird panic\u201d and \u201cfreak out\u201d in Israel \u201cstrange.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refrained from directly attacking the deal, focusing instead on statements pledging that Israel retains its right to self-defense, but far-right members of his coalition, such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have warned of its dangers. <\/p>\n
\u201cBibi, to his credit, has not gone down that path,\u201d Vance told reporters in the White House. He underscored Israeli dependency on American military aid in a direct message rebuking the ministers.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the last three months, two-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected your homeland have been built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n