US VP Vance Criticises Israeli Rejection of Iran Agreement, Urges Diplomacy
United States Vice President JD Vance on Thursday criticised the rejection by senior Israeli ministers of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on 17 June. The agreement aims to end the US-Iran war.
Speaking to The New York Times, Vance responded to objections from Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oppose any deal that does not fully dismantle Iran's military and nuclear capabilities. "You're a country of nine million people. You can't just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have," Vance said.
The vice president called on Israeli officials to allow negotiations to proceed and to acknowledge Washington's role as a long-standing partner. He also addressed concerns about the MoU, which includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, ending hostilities across all fronts, and providing sanctions relief for Iran's fossil fuel exports.
The agreement defers broader nuclear issues to 60 days of follow-up negotiations, which Vance said could begin as early as this weekend. It does not cover Iran's ballistic missile programme or its support for regional armed groups, issues of concern to Israel and some US lawmakers. Vance expressed hope that future negotiations would address missile threats but backed away from earlier pledges to eliminate Iran's ballistic weapons capacity entirely.
Defending the agreement, Vance argued that the war has already degraded Iran's nuclear infrastructure, conventional military, and economy. "If the Iranians don't change their behaviour, their military and their nuclear programme is still destroyed. If they do change their behaviour, then they are going to have a transformative relationship with the Middle East," he said, calling the outcome a win for the American people regardless of Iran's choices.
President Trump, speaking from the G7 summit in France, separately urged Israeli restraint in military operations in Lebanon, saying, "Too many people have been killed." The MoU does not settle the status of the Strait of Hormuz or prevent Iran from imposing transit fees.
