Vance Defends US-Iran MoU, Criticizes Israeli Leaders for Pushing Continued War

United States Vice President JD Vance has defended the memorandum of understanding to end the US-Iran war, responding to criticism of the deal from Democrats and Republicans alike.

In an interview with The New York Times published Thursday, a day after US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the MoU, Vance reserved his harshest criticism for Israeli leaders who have urged Washington to continue the war. He singled out far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir.

“And I guess my response to them would be: What is your exact proposal? You’re a country of nine million people. You can’t just kill your way out of every single national security problem that you have,” he said.

Vance called on Israel to allow negotiations to play out and to “give a little bit of credit to the United States of America, which I think has been an incredible partner for the Israeli government for a long time.”

His statement marks the latest instance of the Trump administration taking an unusually tough rhetorical stance toward Israel. Israel’s ongoing occupation and military operations in southern Lebanon have repeatedly threatened to derail a more lasting agreement to end the conflict with Iran.

In recent days, Trump has criticized Israel’s rules of engagement, which war monitors say contribute to high civilian casualties, while urging restraint in its war with Hezbollah.