U.S. Vice President JD Vance has sharply criticized Israel for a “weird panic” and “freakout” over the newly struck U.S.-Iran agreement, as the Trump administration scrambles to contain growing backlash from its closest Middle Eastern ally.
Israeli officials across the political spectrum, including allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have slammed the deal, arguing it fails to curb Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs while handcuffing Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“There is this weird panic almost in the Israeli system… where they assume that everything that is contemplated that is good for Iran will happen, but that will happen without the Iranians changing any behavior,” Vance said in an interview with The New York Times released Thursday. “That’s not how the deal is written.”
Vance maintained that Washington would not lift sanctions if Tehran continued to fund terrorism, accusing Israel of a lack of faith in the alliance.
“I think that America has earned the trust of that region of the world,” Vance said. “The idea that we’ve made a terrible deal is not supported by the facts.”
The Vice President’s remarks follow comments from President Donald Trump, who attempted to downplay Israel’s anxieties at the G7 summit in France. In a public rebuke of America’s wartime partner, Trump suggested Netanyahu could use a “softer touch” against Hezbollah.
The U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding approved this week notably defers the most contentious geopolitical issues to a later, un-guaranteed phase of negotiations.
Vance took direct aim at far-right Israeli cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, challenging their hardline stance against the diplomatic breakthrough.
“I guess my response to them would be: What is your exact proposal? You’re a country of 9 million people,” Vance said. “You can’t just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have.”
The comment drew an immediate, fierce retort from National Security Minister Ben-Gvir on social media.
“This is the proposal, @JDVance,” Ben-Gvir posted on X. “To deal with the Nazis of the 21st century, just as the United States dealt with the Nazis of the 20th century.”
