Vance Cautions Israeli Critics: Don't Attack ‘the Only Powerful Ally’ You Have Left

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday warned Israeli political leaders critical of the Trump administration memorandum of understanding with Iran not to attack “the only powerful ally” they have “anywhere left in the entire world.”

It is the latest rebuke of a close ally with which the Trump administration has apparently grown increasingly frustrated as it works to wind down the monthslong war that the U.S. and Israel have waged together against Iran. Cabinet-level officials in Israel have been critical of the deal, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while more measured in his response, has insisted that his nation’s operations targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon will continue.

“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 that country is in,” Vance told reporters Thursday.

Though Netanyahu has remained defiant in the face of international criticism, Israel's reputation on the global stage has suffered significantly in recent years, first over outcry against its military campaign in Gaza that followed the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas militants and more recently over its role in the war against Iran. In the U.S., criticism of Israel has broken largely along party lines, though some Republicans have voiced growing skepticism of the Israeli government and American support for it.

A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately return a request for comment on the vice president’s remarks.

Vance, speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday before traveling to Switzerland for an official signing ceremony with Iranian officials, invoked an Axios report claiming thatNetanyahu was incensed over the deal. The vice president said the Axios reporting wasn’t in line with conversations he’s had with the Israeli prime minister, though he conceded that “maybe he’s saying something to somebody else that he’s not saying to me.”

President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post Thursday afternoon, encouraged Middle East states to remain committed to allowing negotiations to continue, adding that "we expect a complete Ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Israel.”

Trump has insisted that his relationship with Netanyahu remains strong, even as the two have reportedly disagreed fiercely on the continued Israeli strikes in private. Vance’s Thursday comments were aimed at Israeli Cabinet members who the vice president said have “attacked the deal, and in some ways, very personally attacked” the president.

Netanyahu’s determination to attack Hezbollah threatens to complicate fast approaching negotiations to permanently end the war and deliberate the fate of Iran’s nuclear program. The memorandum called for an end to hostilities on all fronts of the war, including Lebanon, and Iran has said Israel would need to withdraw from Lebanon to make any deal possible.

Vance also defended the administration’s dealmaking Thursday from domestic critics who have argued that Iran is being rewarded by being able to sell its oil again while not needing to agree to specific mechanism for dismantling its nuclear program, despite destroying the Islamic Republic's nuclear program being a stated impetus for the war.

The agreement, Vance said, requires Iran to comply with an inspection regime of its nuclear program before the U.S. lifts further sanctions and allows it to develop a $300 billion reconstruction fund — which Vance said could be funded through investments from nearby Gulf states.

“Have a little bit of faith in the president of the United States,” Vance said. “The idea that he is going to strike a deal that is bad for the American people — it’s preposterous.”

The vice president also doubled down on Trump’s suggestion Wednesday that Iran should be able to keep some of its ballistic missile stockpile, with Vance saying that Iran’s ability to launch those projectiles has been "substantially degraded.”

Though Iran shouldn’t have to give up its self-defense, Vance said, the administration expects the county won’t be able to build missiles that “broadly threaten the entire world.”

Lawmakers received a copy of the agreement shortly before the Thursday press conference. Vance said Thursday that certain elements of the deal require congressional approval, though not for temporarily lifting sanctions on Iran’s oil exports.