J D Vance slams Israel for criticising Iran MoU: ‘Trump only leader who is sympathetic to you’

US Vice President J.D. Vance on Thursday hit out at Israeli elements criticising US President Donald Trump for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Iran, stating that Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to Israel and warned that Israel “was built with our money”.

The Vice President’s warnings come as far-right ministers within the Israeli cabinet, especially National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, called on Israel to defy the agreement’s requirement that Israeli troops pull out of southern Lebanon and stop attacks on the Iranian proxy militant group Hezbollah. “We are not partners to this agreement that does not ensure our security, and it does not bind us in any way,” said Ben-Gvir. “We must not compromise.”

To this, Vance said: “You have seen people within Bibi’s cabinet, who have come out and attacked the deal, and in some ways very personally attacked the president of the United States.”

“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 the country is in,” Vance said in a White House briefing. “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 also rejected Israeli criticism of the agreement, claiming that it contains no real concessions to Tehran. "What benefits are the Iranians receiving that they did not have before? The answer is nothing," he said, adding that the agreement does not provide Iran with any compensation in advance, but rather a framework in which concessions will be granted only if Tehran changes its behaviour and meets its obligations.

He then threatened an arms embargo on Israel, stating that the country has been built by US hand. “If I were 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 other thing that I would say is that over 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,” Vance said.

Earlier, Vance told The New York Times that he found “this whole freakout in Israel a little bit odd.” He added that a large section of the Israeli political system and population is very sensitive about this deal and was picking up on some misinformation and running with it, and sort of panicking about it.

He also singled out Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who were critical of the deal. “I guess my response to them would be: What is your exact proposal? You’re a country of nine million people. You can’t just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have,” he said.

Vance’s blunt words came as a shock to Israel, as some believe that Vance’s no concession for Iran could be right, but there are no returns. They argue that some important issues were left without further consideration in the MoU, and Tehran sees this as an Iranian achievement.

Though almost all of Israel's top brass opposes the agreement with Iran, Netanyahu has so far refrained from speaking out against the agreement. Analysts believe that he believes a final agreement will not be signed, and all that is needed now is to wait.

“It is also possible that he thinks that the next opportunity to act against Iran will only be after the US midterm elections in November. In the meantime, the directive to the IDF is to prepare for action in Iran alone,” according to Israeli media reports.

Ben Gvir responds

Ben Gvir later responded to Vance’s criticism of him, telling him to fight Iran as the US fought Nazi Germany in World War II.

In a post on X in English addressed to Vance, Ben Gvir responds, “This is the proposal… ​To deal with the Nazis of the 21st century, just as the United States dealt with the Nazis of the 20th century.”