Vance rebukes Israeli cabinet over Iran deal, says Trump is Israel's 'only powerful ally'

A public dressing-down

US Vice President JD Vance lashed out at Israeli cabinet members on Thursday, calling their criticism of the interim Iran deal a “weird panic” and insisting that Donald Trump is the only foreign leader who still stands with Israel. Speaking at a White House press briefing, Vance said he had been “bothered” by personal attacks on the president from far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, and issued a veiled warning that undoing the memorandum of understanding could affect American military support.

“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, and he happens to be the head of state of the world's superpower.”

What the agreement says

The memorandum of understanding, signed by Trump on Wednesday at the G7 summit in France, opens a 60-day window for final negotiations. Its core promises are an end to hostilities in Lebanon, enforcement of limits on Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and the lifting of US sanctions on Tehran. The deal is also meant to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed during the war, choking off a fifth of global oil flows.

“The only way Iran will get any benefit from the bargain is if they comply with the terms of the deal, or they'll get bombed.”

Israel's anger

Israeli officials across the political spectrum have panned the agreement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has kept his frustration private, according to aides, but far-right members of his cabinet have publicly attacked Trump. They argue that the deal fails to curb Iran’s ballistic missile programme and ties Israel’s hands in its ongoing campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Axios reported that Netanyahu and his allies were “fuming” over the terms; Netanyahu himself insisted on Thursday that Israel would not withdraw from occupied Lebanese territory “as long as Israel's security needs demand it.”

'Wake up and smell the reality'

Vance brushed aside the criticism with a stark reminder of the balance sheet. He noted that roughly two-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected Israeli towns are built in the United States and paid for by American tax dollars, a reference to the roughly $4 billion in annual military assistance Washington provides. He accused the Israeli cabinet of mistrusting its strongest ally.

“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.”

Trump's wager

President Trump spent nearly an hour defending the agreement during his closing remarks at the G7 gathering, telling reporters that if the deal succeeds he is “a genius” and if it goes wrong “it's the vice president's fault.” Vance laughed off the remark, saying the president was joking. He pointed to recovering stock markets and oil prices that have fallen close to pre-conflict levels as early evidence that the deal is “bearing fruit for the American people.”