Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back against criticism from US Vice President JD Vance, who recently questioned Israel’s approach to national security. In a Sunday Fox News interview, Netanyahu responded to Vance’s comments, in which the Vice President suggested that Israel cannot simply ‘kill its way out’ of every national security problem. Vance made the remarks at a White House press briefing in June, addressing far-right Israeli ministers who have called for continued war with Iran.
Netanyahu sarcastically quipped that Israel retains the ‘tremendous support’ of ‘small’ India, home to over 1.4 billion people, in an attempt to refute Vance’s assertion that the US is Israel’s sole remaining powerful ally. Netanyahu also claimed that many world leaders secretly call him to ‘make deals’ due to his country’s strong position. His comments came in direct response to Vance, but it was reportedly President Donald Trump who gave Netanyahu a stern lecture in a phone call last month.
According to Axios, Trump called Netanyahu ‘crazy’ and accused him of ingratitude over Israeli actions in Lebanon, which threatened to derail the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran. Trump reportedly screamed that Netanyahu had lost the support of Jews around the world, despite publicly arguing that Jews in America should vote Republican and support his close relationship with Israel. Netanyahu proclaimed during his interview that Trump was the greatest friend Israel had ever seen in the Oval Office, despite the reported blow-up between the two leaders.
The terms of the MOU will see the US provide sanctions relief and the unfreezing of Iranian funds in US financial systems, terms identical to those Trump once criticized as part of the nuclear agreement signed by President Barack Obama with Iran in 2015. Critics of the administration argue that Trump achieved little more than a resumption of the status quo with his agreement to extend the ceasefire while Iran reaps major economic benefits.
