U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is defending the memorandum of understanding to end the U.S.-Israel-Iran war, responding to criticism of the deal from opposing Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
But in an interview with The New York Times published Thursday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Pezeshikian signed a memorandum of understanding, Vance reserved some of his harshest criticism for Israel, whose leaders continue to press Washington to continue the war.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Vance pointed to criticism of the deal by Israeli officials, including far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.
“And I think my response to them would be: What’s your exact proposal? You’re a country of 9 million people. You can’t go out of your way to solve all the national security problems you have,” he said.
He called on Israel to continue negotiations and “to show some respect to the United States, which I think has been a great partner for the Israeli government over the years.”
His statement was the latest example of the Trump administration taking an unusually tough approach, at least rhetorically, to Israel, which has repeatedly threatened to derail a more permanent deal to end the war with Iran with its ongoing occupation and military operations in southern Lebanon.
In recent days, President Trump has called for restraint in going to war with Hezbollah, while criticizing Israel’s rules of engagement, which war monitors have long argued result in high civilian casualties.
“Too many people have been killed,” President Trump said at the G7 summit in France.
“You don’t have to tear down an apartment complex every time you look for someone, because there are a lot of people living in apartment complexes, and not all of them are Hezbollah,” he said.
Vance claims victory
At a subsequent press conference Thursday, Vance said his administration continued to defend its memorandum of understanding with Iran, which commits to opening the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, and ceasing fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
Several senior Democrats and a handful of Republicans said the initial deal appeared to favor Tehran and said the war had not yielded any meaningful concessions that could not be achieved in previous diplomatic phases.
Vance argued that the Trump administration’s wars have created a more favorable situation for the United States, although some issues remain unresolved. It said these include reducing Iran’s nuclear capabilities, rolling back Iran’s conventional military capabilities and weakening Iran’s economy.
The vice president framed the war as a victory regardless of the success of further negotiations, which could begin as early as the weekend.
“If the Iranians do not change their behavior, Iran’s military and nuclear program will remain destroyed. If they change their behavior, their relationship with the Middle East will be forever changed, and the relationship between the Middle East and the Iranian people will be forever changed.”
“Regardless of what option the Iranians ultimately choose, this is a victory for the American people and the American president.”
unanswered questions
The deal includes immediate waivers of sanctions on Iran’s fossil fuel industry, with the United States and regional partners pledging to create a $300 billion recovery fund, negotiate the unfreezing of Iranian assets, and lift all remaining sanctions.
The original deal also included a promise for Iran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium “on site,” but questions about the future of Iran’s nuclear program remain unanswered, leaving the issue open for 60 days of negotiations.
Vance said he believed Iran was prepared to change its long-held position on its nuclear program and could agree to an inspection regime if the United States used sanctions and funding freezes.
The memo also does not address Iran’s ballistic weapons program or support for proxies in the region, the biggest issue for both Israel and Iran hawks in the United States.
Mr. Vance indicated he hoped the negotiations would result in an agreement that would prevent Iran from building “the types of missiles that could broadly threaten the entire world.” Still, as President Trump did on Wednesday, the vice president reversed the previous administration’s pledge to destroy Iran’s ballistic weapons capabilities.
“You can’t say to any country, whether it’s Israel or Iran, that self-defense is not allowed,” he said.
The memorandum also does not include any commitments related to the future management of the Strait of Hormuz or any commitments that would prevent Iran from imposing tolls.
Mr Vance said any future agreement would be aimed at “ensuring that the Strait is never again used as a chokepoint in the global economy”.
