US vice president’s criticism of Israeli ministers over Iran deal shocks Tel Aviv: Report - EUROPE SAYS
Said Amori19 June 2026•Update: 19 June 2026The sharp criticism by US Vice President JD Vance of ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over their opposition to the US-Iran agreement has. . .
Said Amori19 June 2026•Update: 19 June 2026The sharp criticism by US Vice President JD Vance of ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over their opposition to the US-Iran agreement has sent shockwaves through Israel’s political establishment, according to an Israeli newspaper. Quoting unnamed sources familiar with the matter, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Thursday that “a state of shock prevails in Israeli political circles following the US vice president’s remarks. ”The newspaper added that “the Israeli government chose not to respond publicly to Vance’s comments for fear of widening its dispute with President Donald Trump’s administration at a time of mounting tensions over the US-Iran agreement and developments related to Lebanon. ”According to the report, Vance’s remarks were interpreted as hinting at a possible reassessment of the level of US military support for Israel if public criticism of the Trump administration’s policies continues, raising concern within Israel’s political establishment. Speaking at the White House earlier Thursday, Vance sharply criticized members of the Israeli government who attacked the understanding reached between Washington and Tehran, saying: “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. ”Vance said some members of the Israeli government “very personally attacked the President of the United States. ”“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. 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,” he added. On Monday, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the US-Iran agreement does not bind Israel. “Israel is not subject to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign nation,” he said on the US social media company X. “We are not partners in this agreement that does not concern us for our security, and it does not bind us in any way. ”Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also denounced the deal as “bad for Israel and for the entire free world. ”“The joint campaign had many achievements in weakening Iran, and they will not go to waste,” Smotrich claimed in a post on X. “We will have to continue the campaign to topple the regime ourselves and in creative ways, and ensure that Iran will never have nuclear weapons,” he said. On Wednesday evening, US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian electronically signed the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” aimed at ending the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran on Feb. 28. Pakistani mediators announced that the memorandum had entered into force, with Iran set to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic while the US begins lifting its naval blockade on Tehran. *Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul