U.S Vice President JD Vance defended the memorandum of understanding signed between the United States and Iran at a White House briefing, specifically pointing towards Israel’s criticism of the deal, noting that the United States remain its only powerful ally.
Vance spoke to reporters and while he had not heard comments directly from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticising the deal, he called out members of the Israeli cabinet.
“My message to them would be twofold,” he said “No.1: 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.”
“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 world,” he warned.
Vance reminded them of U.S military support for Israel and said, “Two-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected Israel have been built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars.”
The Vice President further added, “The 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.”
He addressed what he described as a “weird panic” and “freakout” in Israel over the MoU, stating, “That is not how the deal is written.”
Vance had earlier criticised Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich in an interview with The New York Times.
“What is your exact proposal? You’re a country of 9 million people. You can’t just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have,” he had said in the interview.
Meanwhile, the White House informed that Vance would not be travelling to Switzerland for a planned round of technical talks with Iran due to logistical challenges.
Reuters news agency cited officials, who said negotiations on implementation details were continuing, while oil shipments resumed through the Strait of Hormuz following the easing of restrictions and the declaration of the ceasefire.
