'Trump Is Your Only Ally': Vance Warns Israeli Critics Over Iran Deal

WASHINGTON: U.S. Vice President JD Vance lashed out at Israeli critics of the Iran ​deal on Thursday, saying President Donald Trump is Israel's only ally in a sharp rebuke that referenced the billions in U.S. defense aid ‌the country receives.

As the Trump administration defended its deal to end the war with Iran, Vance was asked about a report that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was fuming over the agreement.

Vance said he had not heard such comments from Netanyahu but criticized members of the Israeli leader's cabinet, whom he said have attacked the deal and personally attacked Trump.

"My ​message to them would be twofold. 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," Vance told reporters at the White House.

"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."

He said ​he would also remind those cabinet members that two-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected Israel "have been built by American hands and paid for by American ​tax dollars." The United States provides Israel with roughly $4 billion in military assistance a year.

"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 said.

Netanyahu's office and Israel's Foreign Ministry did ​not immediately respond to a request for comment.

TENSIONS GROW BETWEEN U.S., ISRAEL

Vance's remarks at a White House news briefing reflected the growing tensions between the ​two longtime allies, nearly four months after the U.S. partnered with Israel to attack Iran, roiling markets and global oil supplies as Tehran responded by closing the critical Strait of ‌Hormuz supply ⁠route.

Israeli officials across the political spectrum, including some of Netanyahu's allies, have criticized the agreement, saying it did not address their concerns over Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and would tie down Israel's military operations against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

Trump tried to play down Israel's concerns during closing remarks on Wednesday at the Group of Seven summit in France. Netanyahu could use a "softer touch" in the fight against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, Trump said, in his latest public rebuke of ​the U.S. partner in the war against Iran.

Trump ​and Iranian leaders approved a memorandum ⁠of understanding this week that deferred the hardest issues to the next phase of negotiations, with no guarantee they will ever be resolved.

Vance cited approval of the deal by Gulf states: "They're saying this is an amazingly transformative thing for the ​region, because either way, we and the broader region win."

Vance's remarks amplified those he made in an interview with ​the New York ⁠Times, released earlier on Thursday, in which he criticized Israel for a "weird panic" and "freakout" over the agreement struck between the U.S. and Iran.

"I find this whole freakout in Israel a little bit odd because I think that it comes from a place of mistrust, and I think that America has earned the trust of that region ⁠of the ​world," Vance said.

Citing specific critics of the deal — far-right Israeli cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel ​Smotrich — Vance said: "I guess my response to them would be: 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."

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