US Vice President JD Vance launches a harsh attack on critics within the Israeli government following the agreement between the US and Iran to end the war. He urges ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to show gratitude towards the US instead of criticizing Donald Trump’s deal. At the same time, he sends a sharp message to Israel, asserting that the country cannot “kill its way out of every single national security problem.”

The day after US President Donald Trump and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict with Iran, Vance gave an interview to the New York Times and held a press briefing where he commented on the reactions from the Israeli side.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly criticized the agreement himself, a fact both Donald Trump and JD Vance have highlighted. However, other ministers in the Israeli government have strongly criticized the deal.

Among them are Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who have opposed the settlement and pushed for continued military pressure against Iran. JD Vance responded with a clear message to Israel both in the interview and at a Thursday press briefing.

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– And I suppose my response to them would be: What is really your proposal? You are a country of nine million people. You cannot just kill your way out of every single national security problem you have, said the US Vice President.

Furthermore, JD Vance also called on Israel to give the negotiations a chance to succeed and to show appreciation for the US role.

– Give some recognition to the United States, which I think has been an incredible partner to the Israeli government for a long time.

Vance stressed that President Donald Trump is Israel’s only ally in the world today and pointed out that it is American taxpayers who make it possible for Israel to defend itself and carry out attacks.

He referred to the billions in US military support that Israel receives, noting that American taxpayers fund the weapons used by Israel, while the weapons are also manufactured in the US.

Trump Criticized Israel at G7

The statement is yet another example of how the Trump administration has recently taken a more critical tone toward Israel than has been customary in the past.

President Donald Trump in recent days has sharply criticized Israel’s military actions and specifically questioned methods that, according to international observers, cause heavy civilian casualties. At the G7 meeting in France, he did not hide his dissatisfaction.

– Too many people have been killed, he said, continuing:

– You don’t need to level a residential building every time you are looking for someone, because there are many people in those buildings, and they are not all Hezbollah.

Defends the Deal with Iran

At a longer press conference at the White House on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance answered a large number of questions from journalists, many seeking clarification regarding the details of the memorandum with Iran.

The agreement entails, among other things, that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen for international shipping, the American naval blockade against Iranian ports will be lifted, and hostilities are to cease on all fronts, including in Lebanon where Israel is fighting the terrorist group Hezbollah.

Among critics, the agreement is described as a capitulation that grants Iran significant concessions without the US receiving sufficient countermeasures in return. JD Vance, however, dismisses this characterization.

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According to the Vice President, the war has already achieved several American objectives by weakening Iran’s nuclear capacity, military capability, and economy.

– If the Iranians do not change their behavior, their military and nuclear program are still destroyed. If they do change their behavior, they will have a transformative relationship with the Middle East, and the Middle East will have a transformative relationship with the Iranian people, said JD Vance, continuing:

– It is a victory for the American people and for the President of the United States, regardless of which option the Iranians eventually choose.

But despite the deal, several crucial questions remain. The agreement includes sanctions relief for Iran’s energy sector as well as plans for a reconstruction and development fund worth $300 billion.

Cannot Ban Iran from Having Weapons

This also opens up for the unfreezing of Iranian assets and for a gradual lifting of remaining sanctions, which in practice would allow Iran to resume oil exports on a broad scale.

However, the core nuclear question is left largely unresolved. Iran has undertaken to dilute its stock of highly enriched uranium on-site, but the details regarding the country’s future nuclear program are to be determined in the negotiations over the next 60 days.

Nor is Iran’s ballistic missile program covered by the agreement, a key issue for Israel in the context of the conflict. At the same time, Vance emphasized the Trump administration’s stance that it is not possible to entirely prohibit countries from possessing weapons capacity.

– You cannot tell a country, whether Israel or Iran, that they are not allowed to have any self-defense, said Vance.

Watch the full press conference here: