US vice president hits back at Israeli criticism of the agreement reached with Iran to end the war
US Vice President JD Vance speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington on 18 June 2026 (Ken Cedeno/AFP)
Published date: 19 June 2026 11:52 BST
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Last update: 2 sec ago
US Vice President JD Vance has warned Israel that President Donald Trump is its only friend left in the world as he batted away criticism of the Iran deal.
Speaking at a White House press briefing about the reported $300bn reconstruction fund included in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Iran to end the months-long war, Vance said Israeli government ministers needed to think twice before attacking the deal.
“My message to them would be twofold. Number 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,” Vance told reporters on Thursday.
“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.“
The MoU agreed between the US and Iran has provoked outrage in Israel, where it is widely seen as handing an effective victory to Tehran.
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Israeli officials have also been angered by terms stipulating an end to Israel's war in Lebanon and have repeatedly said they will refuse to abide by them.
Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, has sharply rebuked the agreement and insisted Israeli troops would remain in the territories it has occupied in southern Lebanon.
In a New York Times interview, Vance criticised Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, saying: “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.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces elections in October and needs to boost his government's flagging approval ratings.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Netanyahu said that Israel had prevailed in all of its recent conflicts, pointing to what he described as major achievements in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iran.
'We have lost': Trump's Iran pact seen as a strategic defeat in Washington
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He also maintained that, had Israel not acted against Iran in June 2025 and again in February, Tehran would have obtained a nuclear weapon.
Vance said the Israelis needed to remember that two-thirds of the defensive weapons used for their protection had been "built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars”.
“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,” Vance told the press briefing.
The US-Iran deal lays the groundwork for detailed 60-day negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme and sanctions relief.
It remains unclear, however, when talks on a final settlement will begin after the first meeting, scheduled for Friday in Switzerland, was postponed.
The White House announced late on Thursday that the vice president would not be travelling to the new round of direct talks, saying the logistics had not been "simple or predictable".
Talks could also be complicated by an escalation of fighting in Lebanon on Friday as Israel launched new attacks in the country's southern and eastern regions.
Lebanese authorities said 18 people were killed in air strikes, while Israel said four of its soldiers, including a battalion commander, were killed in one of Hezbollah's deadliest attacks of the war.
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