Vice President JD Vance told podcaster Joe Rogan on Wednesday that he is worried American politicians are being swayed by Israeli “influence campaigns.” 

In the three-hour interview on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Vance warned of a “very discreet, extremely well-funded campaign” to derail negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. 

“What does bother me is when those operations, those influence campaigns, actually affect American political judgment, because they shouldn’t. Because we should be thinking, What is in the best interest of the United States of America?” 

Vice President JD Vance told Joe Rogan he is worried American politicians are being swayed by Israeli “influence campaigns" and warned of a “very discreet, extremely well-funded campaign” to derail negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.

Read more: https://t.co/yN72h76DSY pic.twitter.com/eAeh8eAJNm

— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) July 15, 2026

The interview comes after a series of recent statements in which Vance has criticized Israel’s handling of the Iran war. Last month, he issued a rebuke to Israeli leaders critical of President Donald Trump’s decision to negotiate with Iran, urging them against “attacking the only powerful ally” they have left. 

“[Israel is] a country of 9 million people. We have 330 million people. And so, of course, they’re going to try to persuade Americans. They’re going to try to move Americans in one direction or another,” Vance told Rogan. He noted that Israel’s efforts to influence American foreign policy are not themselves suspect — “a lot of other countries do [it],” Vance said — but, rather, that American officials will act in ways that do not serve the American public as a result of Israel’s urging.

Vance compared these alleged Israeli efforts to influence campaigns by Qatar and Russia. “It doesn’t bother me that Qatar tries to influence the United States …. I like a lot of the Qataris, just like I like a lot of the Israelis …. It frankly doesn’t even bother me that Russia or some of these other countries do it. It’s just the nature of being a political leader in 2026,” he said. 

He also claimed such Israeli influence campaigns are supportive of war for its own sake: “There are some people within their system we know beyond a shadow of a doubt who are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely. Again, not towards any objective, but just indefinitely,” he said.

In the interview, Vance described an ongoing “massive pro-Israel, anti-Israel debate in the United States of America,” and painted himself as the “reasonable moderate” in that conversation. For that reason, Vance said, he has “been accused of being an antisemite.” 

“I guess some people say that I’ve insulted the Jewish religion, which is insane. Like, I have a ton of respect for the Jewish religion,” said Vance. But even as he defended himself against charges of antisemitism, he suggested that his accusers need to acknowledge that American political support for Israel is receding.

“I’ve never heard a good, compelling argument for why I’m an antisemite, even though I’ve been accused of being an antisemite by many people. But what I say to these guys is, look at public opinion, look at the way young Republicans versus Republicans over the age of 65 approach this issue,” said Vance. “Right now, Israel is losing the public opinion battle in the United States of America. It is a simple and obvious fact. Donald Trump has said that publicly.” 

What he supports instead is a reevaluation of the U.S.-Israel relationship, he said.

“Israel is an ally like France or like the United Kingdom. We’re going to have disagreements with them. We’re going to have agreements with them,” said Vance. “So my approach to this is to say, you know what? When we’re partnered, great, let’s work together. When we’re not, let’s just be honest about it. And for that, people attack me for being an antisemite or anti-Israel, and they don’t see the writing on the wall, that I’m actually just the guy advocating for a normal relationship with a normal country that’s based around shared interests, as opposed to based around something else.” 

It’s a position that sounds similar to recent policy positions adopted by J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy group. J Street said in April, when it announced that the U.S. should no longer support any foreign military aid to Israel, that the country should be treated as a “normal ally — not an exception that receives unquestioning, blank check support from the United States.”

Later in the interview, in a lengthy discussion about disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, Vance agreed with Rogan’s comments that some have claimed that Epstein may have been connected to the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service. 

“He clearly had connections to the highest levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence,” said Vance. 

Bruce Pearl, the veteran Auburn University men’s basketball coach, said that Vice President JD Vance needs to “make a decision” about his continued association with far-right commentator Tucker Carlson, warning that his support of Vance’s expected 2028 presidential bid will be contingent on the vice president severing ties with the antisemitic podcaster.

The former Auburn coach, who is currently splitting his time between pro-Israel political advocacy and serving as an analyst for TNT and CBS Sports, made the comments in an interview with Jewish Insider on Monday while discussing the rise of right-wing antisemitism and the prominence of Carlson, neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes and other commentators who promote antisemitic ideas within the America First right-wing movement. 

Pearl argued that Carlson and Fuentes “are absolutely enemies of the state. What they’re doing is treasonous, it’s disgusting and it’s not based on fact. It’s based on lies and propaganda and antisemitism. They’re bought and paid for, but they’ve got huge followings.”

“On the right we have taken Tucker Carlson on. He’s been basically kicked out of the White House. You won’t see him at Mar-a-Lago anymore,” Pearl explained. “JD Vance is going to have to make a decision at some point about whether or not he’s going to stay in that camp or not.”

“If he doesn’t stay there and he’s the Republican candidate, I’ll consider voting for him, but if he maintains that connection to that antisemite, I think that’s going to be bad for antisemitism, because he will bring a lot of Tucker Carlsons with him,” he added. “He’ll uplift them. I hope he doesn’t go that route.”

Reached for comment, a Vance spokesperson referred JI to the vice president’s comments in an UnHerd interview in December. Vance told the outlet that “antisemitism and all forms of ethnic hatred have no place in the conservative movement,” though he rejected that the rise in anti-Israel sentiment in the Republican Party was the result of antisemitism.

“What is actually happening is that there is a real backlash to a consensus view in American foreign policy. I think we already had that conversation and [should] not try to shut it down,” Vance said in the interview. “Most Americans aren’t antisemitic. They’re never going to be antisemitic, and I think we should focus on the real debate.”

While Vance has repeatedly denounced Fuentes over the years, he has refused to disavow or distance himself from Carlson, despite the former Fox News host regularly pushing antisemitic conspiracy theories and hosting controversial figures including Fuentes on his podcast. 

The vice president has also condemned antisemitism and argued that it has no place in the GOP, though he has also rejected the notion that Jew hatred is spreading in the conservative movement.

Pearl, who cofounded the Jewish Coaches Association in 2005 and is chairman of the board of directors for the U.S. Israel Education Association (USIEA), maintained his belief that antisemitism is worse on the political left than on the right, pointing to the battle taking place within the conservative movement over the future of the Republican Party’s support for Israel. He argued that the Democratic Party had caved to its leftward fringes, while some in the GOP were still fighting the rise of the antisemitic right. 

“The Democrats had this same issue about 10 years ago. They quit. They bailed on it. Now, it’s taken over the direction of their party,” Pearl said. “The Democrats chose to let [Sen.] Bernie Sanders (I-VT) or [Reps.] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) or Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) or Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in because they’ve got such a big tent.”

“The Republicans, to their credit — including the president, Sens. [Ted] Cruz (R-TX), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), [House Speaker] Mike Johnson (R-LA), and many others — aren’t having it and are taking this head on,” he added. “President Trump said that Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens aren’t welcome in our tent and he’s right, they’re not. These are Jew-hating, Qatari-bribed podcasters. Yes, there is a battle in the Republican Party. We’re not denying that there’s not a battle, but at least we’re having it.”

While Pearl, a senior fellow at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute (AFPI), remained noncommittal on his future support for Vance, the former Auburn coach reiterated his support for President Donald Trump amid his diplomatic efforts with Iran, despite the ongoing negotiations causing alarm among pro-Israel Republicans. 

“I’m optimistic about President Trump and what he’s doing [in the Middle East]. I believe he’s trying as best he can to shift gears because he doesn’t want to be impeached all day, every day,” Pearl said. “We’ve got a chance to keep the House. We’re going to keep the Senate. He’s trying to see if we can put this war on hold, get the economy going again, start reaping the benefits of unleashed oil, see if they can start to get gas prices down and food costs down.”

Pearl predicted that Iran would continue to violate its ongoing ceasefire with the U.S. as part of the 60-day memorandum of understanding, forcing Trump to eventually respond by restarting military operations and abandoning peace talks. 

“We recognize how crazy the Democrats are, and maybe we can maintain what numbers we have on Capitol Hill,” Pearl told JI. “I understand what he’s doing. I think at the end of the day, after the midterms, he’s going to do what he needs to do.”

“The Iranians are gonna continue to show everybody who they are,” he added. “President Trump, after the midterms, is going to save the world.”

Pearl, who declined to run for Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) seat after the outgoing senator announced his bid for Alabama governor last spring, told JI that he was motivated to get more involved in pro-Israel activism despite not seeking public office because he is alarmed the level of antisemitism domestically. 

“What happened to me over the last couple of years is this: I stopped waking up every morning and going to bed every night thinking about how to beat Kentucky and win an SEC championship, and I started waking up and going to bed thinking about our country beginning to see this rising antisemitism that I had never seen before,” Pearl said. “I realized that the SEC is no longer my opponent. People that hate this country and people that hate Israel, those are my opponents.”

“I’m less concerned about Israel’s survival than I am about what I’m seeing in this country,” he continued. “People say: don’t talk about religion and politics. They say it all the time. Well, as a result, we don’t know how to talk about religion and politics.”

In addition to releasing an essay for AFPI in February defending Trump’s decision to launch the war in Iran as an “America First” approach, Pearl said he has appeared at 76 pro-Israel events across the country since January, connecting with as many Republican and pro-Israel political operatives and speaking to as many young Americans as possible as he looks to increase his visibility as a political activist. 

He told JI he planned to assess at the end of the year his next professional steps. He said he “loves” his work with USIEA, which involves leading a $3 million annual fundraising effort, and noted that the House speaker offered support for Israel asserting full sovereignty over the West Bank — which Pearl refers to by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria — during an USIEA-organized trip to the settlement while visiting Israel last August. 

“I want to do advocacy for our country. I want to do advocacy for Israel. I’m just trying to figure it out. Right now, I say yes to almost everything and no to almost nothing that comes my way,” Pearl said. “I’m going to sit back at the end of the year and ask myself what’s working and what’s not.”

As tensions run high in the Gulf following exchanges of fire between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend, a vastly different security situation is taking shape in Lebanon, with the Trump administration’s top officials — Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — taking responsibility for the respective outcomes.

Vance, who led last week’s negotiations with Iran in Switzerland, said upon his departure from the talks that a “good foundation” had been established between the countries. But that foundation displayed its first cracks just three days later, when Iranian drones fired on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the U.S. to strike Iranian military infrastructure.

The vice president’s tone changed by the weekend, when he said that if Iran had “disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence.” The Iranians skipped technical talks slated for Sunday, saying that the U.S. had not fulfilled the condition of the MOU that would release billions in frozen funds.

Now, officials say that the U.S. and Iranian delegations have agreed to hold fire and will meet in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday to discuss the status of the Strait of Hormuz.

In Washington, officials are meanwhile celebrating the signing of a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon that would see Israel scale back its presence in southern Lebanon, creating two “pilot zones” for the Lebanese Armed Forces to administer.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ David Daoud cautioned that the celebration could be premature, telling JI that the fractious nature of Lebanon’s political and religious makeup — as well as Hezbollah’s role in the daily lives of many Lebanese citizens — makes the agreement difficult to implement, even with all the damage the Iranian-backed group has sustained over the last three years.



“Don’t underestimate Hezbollah’s ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat,” Daoud said. “I don’t want to overestimate their ability, but this group has proven itself very adaptable over the course of its existence.”

With the agreement signed, the next step will be its implementation. If the LAF is able to administer the pilot zones, there is the possibility of replicating the strategy elsewhere in southern Lebanon. The challenge will be when residents of southern Lebanon — which include Hezbollah members from the area — begin to return to villages south of the Litani River.

In Lebanon, the challenge is not only political will but Beirut’s capacity to address Hezbollah, which is deeply embedded in Lebanese society.

Both Vance and Rubio will have their work cut out for them as they navigate the coming weeks: Vance with continued talks with Iran and the pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and Rubio with the implementation of an agreement he hailed as the “beginning of the beginning.” Whether they are successful depends more on the actors themselves than the agreements they sign.

Vice President JD Vance said this week that U.S. military officials are working directly with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. The vice president made the comments after departing Switzerland following the conclusion of talks with Iran that lasted until Monday.

“One of the things we wanted to come out [of the negotiations]” was a “channel on the Iranian side” to seek conflict resolution, Vance told the outlet UnHerd aboard Air Force Two. “Which we did. They were like, ‘OK, fine, we’ll send somebody from the IRGC to go hang out in Doha with somebody from CENTCOM,’ and that’s how we’re going to settle a lot of these disputes,” he said.

President Donald Trump designated the IRGC an FTO during his first term in 2019 and ordered the strike that killed IRGC Quds Force head Qasem Soleimani in 2020. Announcing the designation, the State Department said the group “has been directly involved in terrorist plotting; its support for terrorism is foundational and institutional, and it has killed U.S. citizens.” The IRGC also “continues to provide financial and other material support” for terror groups including Hezbollah, Kataib Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the statement added. 

The group played a central role in Iran’s attacks around the region during the U.S.-Iran war, including an attack on the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain earlier this month, and is linked to dozens of recent plots and attacks in Europe. U.S. authorities have also repeatedly alleged IRGC involvement in assassination schemes targeting current and former American officials, including Trump.

Vance said that the Emiratis — “by far the most hawkish, by far the most pro-Israel country in the [Gulf Cooperation Council]” — are also “having conversations with the Iranians that have never happened before, including with the IRGC,” namely about economic incentives to urge Iran to cooperate.

Regarding criticism of the memorandum of understanding reached with Iran, Vance said, “There are many things I don’t like about the comparison to the [2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], but one of them is that the MOU is a much more generic document than the JCPOA.”

“It really is a foundational document,” he said of the MOU. “Let’s open the strait, let’s stop shooting at each other, and let’s see if we can make a nuclear deal. And from their perspective, it’s, ‘Let’s lift the blockade, let’s stop shooting at each other, and let’s see if there’s a sanctions deal.’ That’s fundamentally where it’s coming from.”

Vance claimed the Iranians are now offering “things radically different from the JCPOA” and “want a fundamentally transformed relationship with the United States and the world.”

Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that the administration is “confirming” Turkey has fulfilled its obligations under U.S. law in order to receive advanced F-35 fighter jets, which Ankara has long sought but has been barred from purchasing since 2020 after it acquired the S-400 air-defense system from Russia. 

U.S. law requires the secretaries of state and defense to certify to Congress in writing, prior to any F-35 transfer, that Turkey no longer possesses the S-400 system and has provided credible assurances it will not acquire similar Russian air-defense systems. Latest reports indicate the S-400 system is inactive but still intact in Turkey, which would not fulfill the obligations required under law to lift the sanctions.

Asked in the Oval Office “what needs to happen for the F-35 deal to be finalized,” Vance said, “[Defense Secretary] Pete [Hegseth] and the entire team are reviewing this right now, because there are certain things that we have to certify have happened … in order to comply with American law. The president has asked us to do that. We’re running the traps and confirming that’s happened.” 

Vance’s remarks were at odds with Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments to the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this month, when he said Turkey was still prohibited from acquiring the F-35 jets until it resolved the S-400 issue in a way that complies with U.S. law. “We don’t have that choice because it’s governed by statute,” Rubio said. No certification proving otherwise has been submitted to Congress in the interim. 

President Donald Trump, asked about whether he’s considering selling advanced jet engines or F-35s to Turkey, said while sitting next to Vance, “I think so. Look, [Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is] a member of NATO. Some people don’t consider him so, but he really is, he’s a strong member of NATO. Yeah, I’m going to probably do something that’s going to make him very happy.” Trump is slated to attend the NATO summit being held in Ankara next month.

The president made similar comments during Erdoğan’s visit to Washington in September, when Trump said he was likely to permit Turkey to purchase F-35s as soon as “the end of the day.” 

Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the administration told him on Tuesday “it would once again bypass Congressional review” by allowing the Turkish military to purchase more than $700 million of U.S.-made F-110 jet engines. “The State Department did not even attempt to justify its decision,” Meeks said in his statement, adding that the administration failed to provide written rationale, brief Congress or invoke emergency authority in order to proceed with the sale. 

The proposed engine sale would likely also face scrutiny under the sanctions and export-control restrictions imposed after Turkey’s acquisition of the S-400 system

Trump credited Turkey’s “very strong military” and praised Erdoğan as “a very good person” in his remarks on Wednesday.

Trump has maintained close ties with the Turkish leader, even as Turkish-Israeli relations have soured. Last year, Erdoğan reportedly said during a mosque visit: “May Allah destroy Zionist Israel in his holy name.”

Trump told reporters on Wednesday that Erdoğan was “a prime candidate to go into the war with Iran — maybe on the Iran side, because he’s not a big fan of Israel,” adding, “I asked him to stay out. He stayed out.“

Good Tuesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The U.S. and Iran continued to offer conflicting accounts of the agreement reached over the weekend: President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social this morning that Iran “fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future,” without which “there would be no further negotiations.” But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said it was untrue and that the parties had not discussed any nuclear issues.

About Tehran’s denial, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. “know[s] what [Iran] agreed to do, and now they’ll either do it or they won’t. And if they do, the process moves forward. And if they don’t, the president will have some decisions to make”…

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Trump also said in his post that the funds received by Iran through the deal will go “into escrow, controlled by the U.S.A., and will be used for the purchase of food and medical supplies.” Yet the Treasury Department’s waiver of Iranian oil sanctions contains no such language and the text of the memorandum of understanding says unfrozen Iranian assets “shall be made fully usable” for “any ultimate beneficiary designated by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran”…

---

Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in Muscat speaking with Omani leaders about the Strait of Hormuz: In a joint statement, the parties said their foreign ministries will work towards an agreement on the “future administration” of the strait, the “services that will be provided in this regard and the costs associated with them,” as the Trump administration has repeatedly stated it will not accept any tolls placed on transit through the key waterway…

---

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was also abroad, meeting in Islamabad with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where Pezeshkian said Iran’s ballistic missile program “will never be” up for negotiation with the U.S…

---

Jerusalem is publicly expressing concern about the Lebanon deconfliction mechanism established by the U.S. and Iran for the first time, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports: At the opening of Israel and Lebanon’s fifth round of direct talks taking place in Washington today, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter claimed the parties are “heading towards a train wreck.”

Leiter said he’s “concerned the concept of deconfliction is misplaced” because “Israel is not in conflict with Lebanon,” and that Israel had assumed “the central issue was Lebanon and Hezbollah — not the extent to which Iran could restrain Hezbollah. That is not Iran’s role”…

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Rubio, arriving in Abu Dhabi, said the U.S.-Iran and Israel-Lebanon tracks “are separate because Lebanon is a sovereign country,” and that the U.S. is “going to negotiate a deal directly with the Lebanese government,” without mentioning Israel.

Rubio also made clear that Iran is responsible for much of the terror activity in the Middle East, striking a different tone than that of Vice President JD Vance, JI’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports, after Vance said yesterday the U.S. is counting on Iran to “rein in” Hezbollah…

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The Senate passed a war powers resolution this afternoon directing the administration to withdraw U.S. forces from Iran, 50-48, with GOP Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) voting in favor with Democrats,JI’s Marc Rod reports.

The resolution, now passed by both chambers, came as a concurrent resolution — meaning it will not be submitted to the president and, based on past court precedent, is not seen as carrying the force of law…

---

A manifesto allegedly left by the gunman behind yesterday’s rampage in Côte-des-Neiges, a heavily Jewish neighborhood in Montreal, repeatedly targeted Jews and Zionists, specifically identifying “influential Zionists” among his intended victims, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…

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New York City First Lady Rama Duwaji posted an Instagram story today flashing an “I Voted” sticker and encouraging her followers to support two congressional candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America: Assemblymember Claire Valdez and doctoral candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier. Not receiving a mention was the only Jewish congressional candidate endorsed by her husband: former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, JI’s Will Bredderman reports…

---

Ammar Campa-Najjar, a DSA-backed candidate who was recently defeated in his run for a California congressional seat, launched a new PAC called Democratic Majority for America — a counter to Democratic Majority for Israel, which organized against him in the June primary — to support progressive candidates who want to end aid to Israel, Politico reports.

The PAC, which Campa-Najjar said has about $100,000 in cash on hand, has already endorsed California congressional candidate Randy Villegas and far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed…

---

AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, has spent more than $38 million backing candidates this election cycle so far through direct and indirect spending, according to Politico, surpassing the $26 million it spent on the 2022 midterms…

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The Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, headed by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, announced the formation of its inaugural advisory board, including Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, Dentons CEO Kate Barton, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for primary results from key races in New York and Maryland, as well as a postmortem on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s ability to wield his political capital in the three congressional races where he endorsed progressive candidates.

---

President Donald Trump is expected to attend a GOP Senate luncheon as he remains at odds with his party over several legislative efforts and as some Republicans speak out against his efforts to curb Israeli operations against Hezbollah.

---

In the afternoon, Trump will hold a rally on the National Mall to kick off his Great American State Fair in the lead-up to the country’s 250th anniversary.

---

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is slated to brief House Republicans tomorrow as the Pentagon gears up for a contentious fight over an expected $80 billion supplemental funding request tied largely to the Iran war.

---

The House Appropriations Committee will mark up the 2027 defense spending bill.

---

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) will speak in conversation with Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO Amy Spitalnick as well as leaders from other religious groups, including the Union for Reform Judaism and Orthodox Union, about the Jewish American Security Act.

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As the details around the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran emerge, Vice President JD Vance, who has been deputized with leading the effort, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, ostensibly the Trump administration’s top diplomat, have offered different messaging around the issue of Lebanon and Hezbollah being subsumed into discussions with Tehran.

After the U.S. and Iran agreed to create a “deconfliction cell” for military operations in Lebanon — a mechanism that, notably, does not include Israel — Vance said on Monday that the U.S. will be counting on Iran to “rein in” its proxy Hezbollah, without referencing Tehran’s material support for the terror group. 

Vance called on Israel to respond to Hezbollah’s attacks “in the context of a conversation that’s ongoing between Hezbollah, Lebanon, Israel and other partners in the region.” He said the conflict is “a bit of a chicken and egg problem,” in which he claimed lower-level Hezbollah operatives are firing on Israel without approval from their superiors.

Rubio, meanwhile, has been clearer about Iran’s role in propagating terror in the Middle East. Arriving in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, he said a “complete end of hostilities in the entire region” is “not possible … as long as Iranian proxies are launching missiles and drones from Iraq and are participating in terrorism like Hamas did and like Hezbollah did.”

WATCH: Marco Rubio said upon arriving in Abu Dhabi that the U.S.–Iran and Israel–Lebanon diplomatic tracks “are separate because Lebanon is a sovereign country,” while adding that Iran’s “support and sponsorship of Hezbollah” will be part of “our conversations with the Iranians.” pic.twitter.com/iADhszGTZC

— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) June 23, 2026

Rubio also distanced the Lebanon conflict from negotiations with Iran: Asked if he believes the Israel-Lebanon peace process should be separate from the Iran discussions, Rubio said, “That process is separate.”

“It’s separate because Lebanon is a sovereign country. … When it comes to Lebanon and what’s happening inside of Lebanon, we’re going to negotiate a deal directly with the Lebanese government,” he continued, again without mentioning Israel.

“Now, there’s an Iranian issue with regards to Lebanon, and that is their support and sponsorship of Hezbollah. And so that factor will be discussed as part of our conversation with the Iranians, but … the future of Lebanon belongs to the Lebanese people, through their sovereign, elected government, and that’s who we’re going to be working with,” Rubio said.

He referenced a phone call he and Vance held earlier on Tuesday with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who said in a readout that the deconfliction mechanism will now include Lebanon as a party.

Olivia Wales, a White House spokesperson, told Jewish Insider, “Both Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio are in lockstep with President Trump: Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and must stop their proxies in Lebanon from causing trouble. What President Trump and his entire national security team achieved on the battlefield and at the negotiating table is nothing short of remarkable and will strengthen American security for years to come.”

This story was updated on June 23 to include comment from the White House.

Good Monday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Three people were killed in a shooting attack today in Côte-des-Neiges, a heavily Jewish neighborhood in Montreal, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen and Tamara Zieve report. A civilian, a police officer and the suspect were confirmed dead by Montreal police, while one other police officer was seriously injured but in stable condition. Police said the suspect’s motive is still under investigation. Stay updated on this developing story with JI’s What We’re Watching briefing…

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After the U.S. and Iran agreed to create a “deconfliction cell” for military operations in Lebanon during their negotiations yesterday, Vice President JD Vance said at a press conference today that the U.S. will be counting on Iran to “rein in” Hezbollah — without acknowledging that Tehran offers material backing to its proxy in Lebanon, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.

Vance called Hezbollah’s attacks on northern Israel and the IDF’s retaliation “a bit of a chicken and egg problem, that you’ve got a junior guy who fires a drone that didn’t have approval from the high command. Of course Israel has to respond to that,” he acknowledged, “but … we could actually have a better and more peaceful situation if Israel responds in the context of a conversation that’s ongoing between Hezbollah, Lebanon, Israel and other partners in the region”…

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to push back on Vance’s framing, saying in a video statement this morning that his directive to the IDF “has not changed: Our fighters in southern Lebanon have full freedom of action to thwart any direct or developing threat to them or to the residents of the north. The IDF has no restrictions on this matter,” he said, while the tenuous ceasefire with Hezbollah appeared to hold today…

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Vance also announced Iran had agreed to let U.N. nuclear inspectors back into the country, and President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that “everybody is fully aware” Iran will agree to “have Major Weapons Inspections in order to ensure ‘Nuclear Honesty’ long into the future,” but Esmail Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, told state media that Iran made “no new commitments” regarding inspections…

---

Pursuant to the agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend, the Treasury Department issued a waiver lifting decades-old U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil for the next 60 days, permitting imports of Iranian oil directly to the U.S. and paying for the goods in U.S. dollars.

Asked this afternoon in the Oval Office if he can ensure that Iran won’t use the funds for military purposes, Trump said, “They’re not supposed to be doing that, so we’ll see, but they’re supposed to use the money to buy food for their people.” AIPAC described the waiver as “broader than the terms detailed in the MOU or what was included in the JCPOA”…

---

The White House’s “Rapid Response” X account boosted an Al Jazeera video interview about the negotiations with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, calling it “the real story from people actually in the room”…

---

Avigdor Liberman, head of Israel’s Yisrael Beiteinu party and a leading opponent of Netanyahu, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that the “deal between Washington and Tehran won’t stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power. It will guarantee it.” He called for Jerusalem to “inform Washington that Israel won’t accept any linkage between Iran and Lebanon” and end its reliance on U.S. missile systems, preparing to attack key Iranian infrastructure if Tehran strikes Israel…

---

Asked about her stance on Israel in a rare nationally televised interview on Fox News today, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she “remain[s] a very strong supporter of Israel” despite rising hostility to Israel and AIPAC among the American public, which she said “sadly reflects rising antisemitism in our country that” her opponent, Democratic nominee Graham Platner, “certainly is part of.”

“It’s important to recognize that AIPAC is made up of Americans who care deeply about our relationship with Israel. Platner makes it sound like this is some sort of evil foreign influence and that is absolutely wrong,” Collins continued…

---

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubled down on his rhetorical assault on AIPAC today, JI’s Will Bredderman reports, after Jewish groups over the weekend criticized his comments about the pro-Israel organization at a rally last week that they argued evoked classic antisemitic tropes.

Mamdani defended naming AIPAC among the “monsters who move dark money” as a reference to a widely known misquote of 20th-century Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci, and backed up his argument with statistics from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry alleging that the IDF has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since the ceasefire last fall…

---

JI’s Christina Sher looks at the state of tomorrow’s Democratic primary for executive of Montgomery County, Md., as all three of the front-runners — County Councilmembers Will Jawando, Andrew Friedson and Evan Glass — have been outspoken against antisemitism, but diverge in their policy positions and views on Israel…

---

Three men killed in asmall plane crash in Bowie, Md., on Saturday night have been identified as Israeli citizens, JI’s Haley Cohen reports: Yoav Bomrind, 26, David Rabinovitz, 19, and Elad Neidik, 20, boarded the single-engine plane in Ocean City, N.J., for a training flight before it crashed just outside Washington, D.C…

---

Alan Greenspan — the influential economist who led the Federal Reserve across four presidencies and whose track record guiding economic growth earned him status as an economic “maestro” — died today at 100, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how pro-Israel groups’ intervention in the race to replace retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) — where they are supporting state Delegate Adrian Boafo — revealed a more proactive strategy for taking on the left than the one the groups have employed in New York City’s Democratic primaries, as voters in both states head to the polls tomorrow.

---

Israeli and Lebanese representatives are expected to meet in Washington to continue their direct negotiations, as the U.S. and Iran seek to intervene in ending military operations in Lebanon.

---

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will embark on a three-day trip to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain to discuss issues including the memorandum of understanding with Iran and transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

---

Orthodox Union Advocacy will hold its annual lobbying day on the Hill, including a luncheon with senators from both parties and a speech by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter.

---

The Jerusalem News Syndicate’s policy summit continues in Jerusalem with remarks from former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, Netanyahu advisor Michael Eisenberg and Magen David Adom President Gilad Erdan.

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Nearly all Israelis surveyed said they believed Tehran was the victor, while 70% rated Trump’s management of the war as a failure or poor

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Vice President JD Vance on Monday backed Iran’s participation in bringing about the end of Israel and Hezbollah’s military conflict, calling the terror group’s ongoing strikes and Israel’s response “a chicken and egg problem.” 

Vance said at a press conference in Switzerland that the U.S. will be counting on Iran to “rein in” Hezbollah, after the U.S. and Iran agreed to create a “deconfliction cell” for military operations in Lebanon during negotiations on Sunday. The statement announcing the mechanism, released by mediating countries Pakistan and Qatar, did not reference Israel.

When asked if he expected Lebanon to be such a linchpin in negotiations, Vance said, “We want Hezbollah to stop firing at our friends in Israel. We want Israelis to be able to live in peace.  We also want to make sure that … when things happen, they don’t spiral into a broader escalation, and so we’ve been, I think, very good at setting up what we’re calling a deconfliction mechanism.” 

“Sometimes you’ve got a bit of a chicken and egg problem, that you’ve got a junior guy who fires a drone that didn’t have approval from the high command,” he continued, referring to Hezbollah’s ongoing attacks on northern Israeli towns.

“Of course, Israel has to respond to that, but … we could actually have a better and more peaceful situation if Israel responds in the context of a conversation that’s ongoing between Hezbollah, Lebanon, Israel and other partners in the region.”

Vance added that ongoing negotiations will require close coordination with the U.S.-backed Lebanese Armed Forces and will “also require the Iranians to rein in Hezbollah,” without acknowledging that Iran offers material backing to its proxy in Lebanon. 

Reports have indicated that some Lebanese lawmakers have expressed dissatisfaction with the U.S. and Iran including Beirut in their negotiations, as opposed to leaving Lebanon to its separate U.S.-backed track directly with Israel, which is set to continue in Washington this week. 

When asked whether the U.S. expects an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, Vance demurred, affirming instead that Israel has a “right to self-defense” and that the U.S. wants “Israel’s security to be protected.””

“We want Israel’s security to be protected, and we also want Lebanon’s sovereignty to be protected,” Vance said. “The Israelis have been very clear: they do not have territorial intentions on south Lebanon. The reason they feel they have to be there is because they’re worried about Hezbollah fighters in south Lebanon firing into Israel.”

Vance noted that the U.S. made additional “good progress” in the high-level talks over the weekend, claiming that Tehran has agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country to monitor its nuclear program.“That is a major milestone for the American people, and the first step in permanently denuclearizing, or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran,” Vance said at his press conference.

The IAEA inspectors would verify that Iran is only using nuclear material for peaceful purposes, a parameter that Vance noted was “exactly what we asked to happen.”

“In terms of when the nuclear inspectors are going to start … I expect that will happen at the minimum this week, but we think even some of those conversations with the inspectors and with the IAEA could happen as soon as today,” Vance said.

Vance said that talks will proceed on a “technical level” with diplomatic teams in Switzerland continuing negotiations “over the weeks and days to come.” 

“The final deal is the house; we set the foundation,” Vance said. “We haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people. I think it’s important for all of us to appreciate how much was done, but honestly, there is still a lot to do.”

Vance also defended a social media post by President Donald Trump on Sunday, in which the president threatened to “hit Iran very hard again” if it did not “immediately stop” supporting regional proxies. The vice president argued the warning did not derail the diplomatic progress.

“We were negotiating well past one in the morning, so they didn’t walk out, and their technical team is still here working with our technical team as we speak,” Vance said. “What we told the Iranians yesterday is, ‘When you guys engage in what us millennials might call “trash talk,” you can’t expect the president of the United States not to respond and not to correct the record.’”

“So yes, there was a little bit of threatening, there was a little bit of whining, but at the end of the day, the talks continued and we made great progress,” he added.

Vice President JD Vance warned pro-Israel advocates against seeing Israel and the U.S. as always aligned and cautioned against conflating criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism, saying that “if everything is Jew hatred, then nothing is Jew hatred.”

In an episode of Christian conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey’s podcast podcast released on Friday, Vance said that “pro-Israel people in the United States make two critical mistakes. One … is not delineating between America’s interests and Israeli interests, because they’re not always the same.”

“But the second is conflating criticism of a particular government with Jew hatred. Because if everything is Jew hatred, then nothing is Jew hatred,” he continued. “And we have to be very careful not to, you know, in order to serve a certain foreign policy objective, try to criticize somebody as antisemitic when they’re just not.”

Asked by Stuckey if Israel has an “outsized influence in the U.S.,” Vance said, “I certainly think that Israel, like a lot of other countries, tries to influence American politics. I sort of take that as a given. And what I think is that American leaders have to be very careful that when we pursue something, we’re doing it for America’s best interest and not for any other country’s best interest.”

Vance added that the late conservative influencer Charlie Kirk “was very worried about Israeli influence in American politics. He also really disliked antisemitism.”

Stuckey raised the “the obsession that some people have, I would say on the right, with blaming all of their problems on Israel, all of their disagreements with Trump on some secret Israeli influence,” which she said she sees “more prominently on the right than I see the true ‘Israel first’ kind of obsession that you seem to be describing.”

“I see both, and I think both are bad,” Vance responded. But he said he’s “particularly sensitive” to what he views as the elevation of Israel’s interests because he’s “been defending the president’s decision to end the Iran [war], and I find often the arguments are, ‘Well, Israel doesn’t think this is good, therefore it’s bad.’ And my reaction is: Israel’s opinions matter, but fundamentally they are separate.”

“But you’re right. I mean, there are certainly people who take every frustration with the Trump administration, every policy disagreement becomes because of Israel, and that is absolutely wrong. And again, I think that that is one of those things that can bleed into some very dark places,” he continued.

Vance also defended the emerging deal with Iran, prior to departing over the weekend for direct negotiations with Tehran’s representatives in Switzerland. “You do still have terrorist elements within the regime, but you also have pragmatic elements within the regime who are actually affirmatively trying to have a better relationship with the United States,” he said.

Far-left antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, replying to a video of Vance’s comments about criticism of the Israeli government and antisemitism, wrote on X, “I GOT BANNED FROM THE UK FOR SAYING THIS VERBATIM BTW.”

Vice President JD Vance, leading the American delegation in diplomatic negotiations this weekend with Iran in Switzerland, told reporters on Sunday that “the United States is willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with [Iran]” if the Islamic Republic’s leadership is willing to give up nuclear weapons and end its backing of terrorist proxies. 

“If your leadership is willing to give up being a driver of regional instability, if they are willing to give up nuclear weapons ambitions in the long term, then the United States is willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with that country,” Vance said at a news briefing, according to The New York Times. 

Vance described the approach of the U.S. delegation, which he is leading alongside White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as offering an “outstretched hand” to the people of Iran. 

The Iranian delegation is being led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf. The prime ministers of Pakistan and Qatar are serving as mediators. 

Vance also downplayed Hezbollah’s continued attacks against Israel, which have prompted Israeli military retaliation in Lebanon. “We’ve seen great progress over the last couple of days in ensuring that the ceasefire holds in Lebanon. These things are always a little bit messy,” Vance said.

But on Sunday morning, as Vance was holding his press conference, President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post, called on Iran to “immediately stop” its “highly-paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble.”  

“If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!” Trump wrote. 

Good Thursday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by Senior National Correspondent Gabby Deutch.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

As the White House continues to promote the memorandum of understanding that will end the war with Iran and start negotiations between Washington and Tehran, Vice President JD Vance is out with a message that sounds strikingly familiar — at least to anyone who followed former President Barack Obama’s pitch on the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

“If you think this is a bad deal, what is your alternative?” Vance said in an interview this week with New York Times columnist Ross Douthat. 

Obama used nearly identical phrasing at a 2015 White House press conference: “I’m hearing a lot of talking points being repeated about ‘this is a bad deal,’” he said. “What I haven’t heard is, what is your preferred alternative?”

Watch a side-by-side look at Vance and Obama here…

Vance also delivered a tough message to Israeli officials who have criticized the MOU, telling reporters on Thursday that Israel’s government should be careful not to alienate the only friend it has left: President Donald Trump, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports.

“Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time and he happens to be the head of state of the world’s superpower. If I was 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,” said Vance…

Trump also had a word of caution for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, two days after he said Netanyahu was too “vicious” in his approach to fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon. Asked by a reporter for Israel’s Kan News if he will support Netanyahu in this year’s Israeli elections, Trump said he most likely would, but did not commit.

“I’ll have to look at who’s running, but I like Bibi very much. I would be most likely to endorse him,” said Trump. “He’s doing a very good job, he’s got to be a little bit more rational”…

United Against Nuclear Iran, an advocacy group that rallied opposition to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, said on Thursday that it “cannot endorse the MoU in its current form”…

AIPAC released a policy memo on Thursday that said the MOU “raises significant questions,” and called on Congress to “play a critical role in ensuring a final deal meets President Trump’s stated objectives for the war”…

In a Thursday speech at the FII Priority summit in Rome, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama blamed Iran for “ruthless” cyberattacks against the country, claiming that Tehran has sought to sow unrest about a preliminarily approved luxury development project in the country from Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, JI’s Matthew Shea reports…

Janeese Lewis George defeated Kenyan McDuffie in the Democratic primary for mayor of Washington, D.C., with the Associated Press calling the race on Thursday afternoon. Democratic socialist Lewis George leads McDuffie 53% to 36%…

American Priorities, a super PAC created as a progressive counterweight to AIPAC, has received $250,000 from a tech executive whose firm is developing AI data centers in New York State — while boosting two democratic socialist House candidates who oppose efforts to expand data centers, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports…

Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), who has been absent from Congress since March due to an unexplained personal health issue, plans to return to Washington on June 30…

Israel and Syria are expected to resume direct talks soon due to pressure from the U.S., the Israeli network Kan reports…

The FBI announced that it charged San Diego resident Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi with conspiring to provide material support to Hamas after he allegedly raised approximately $600,000 through fraudulent charitable campaigns and funneled a portion to the terrorist organization…

Former Presidents Joe Biden, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton attended the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Thursday afternoon.

Guests included a litany of ex-Obama administration staffers, including former White House liaison to the Jewish community Matt Nosanchuk and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, who was spotted chatting with Obama…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how Jewish Republicans are feeling about the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding that was signed this week. 

Vice President JD Vance plans to travel to Switzerland this weekend for talks with Iran, though the plans are not yet finalized, he told reporters on Thursday. 

Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, will become the acting director of national intelligence on Friday after the confirmation of DNI nominee Jay Clayton was delayed this week at President Donald Trump’s request. 

We’ll be monitoring the final days of the heated congressional primary campaigns in New York, where Israel and Gaza remain hot topics for progressive candidates. 

We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!

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As Vice President JD Vance takes on the role of chief defender of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding and forthcoming talks, he has begun to sound a lot like someone whom the Trump administration has lately spent a lot of time attacking: former President Barack Obama.

Vance and President Donald Trump have both, in recent days, made clear that they view the MOU — which is set to deliver sanctions relief to Iran as nuclear negotiations get underway — as fundamentally different from, and better than, the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal signed by Obama. But as the White House faces criticism from hawkish members of the Republican Party, the language Vance is using to defend the burgeoning deal closely resembles the arguments made by Obama 11 years ago.

“If you think this is a bad deal, what is your alternative?” Vance said in an interview this week with New York Times columnist Ross Douthat. 

Flashback to a 2015 press conference at the White House soon after the JCPOA was announced. 

“I’m hearing a lot of talking points being repeated about ‘this is a bad deal,’” Obama said. “What I haven’t heard is, what is your preferred alternative?”

Both Vance in 2026 and Obama in 2015 argued that the deals negotiated by their respective administrations were better than using military force — or in the case of the Trump deal, continuing to use military force — and that they would lead to a safer world.

“We could drop more bombs. We could destroy more of their country. We could kill the current iteration of their leadership. We know where all of them are. All of those things could happen,” Vance said. “But does that make the American people safer or more prosperous? The president of the United States and I think: No.”

Obama frequently argued similarly.

“If the alternative is that we should bring Iran to heel through military force, then those critics should say so,” he said at the 2015 press conference. “We’ve got a historic chance to pursue a safer and more secure world, an opportunity that may not come again in our lifetimes.”

“None of them have presented to me, or the American people, a better alternative.” -Obama, 2015
“It’s not just whether this is good or bad, it’s what is the alternative.” -Vance, 2026

As Vice President JD Vance takes on the role of chief defender of the U.S.-Iran MOU and the… pic.twitter.com/TB5bvxINM5

— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) June 18, 2026

There are substantive differences between the agreements notched by the Obama and Trump administrations, though both share the core assertion that they will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. 

“The Obama-Iran deal allowed them to generate a stockpile of enriched uranium,” Vance claimed, although the JCPOA required Iran to limit the level to which it enriched uranium, cut its stockpile by 98% and ship the rest of its enriched uranium out of the country.  “Our deal ensures that stockpile is destroyed and eliminated, so that’s a very, very big difference, a very important difference for the American people,” Vance said this week. (The text of the 14-point MOU says only that the uranium will be discussed during the forthcoming negotiations.)

But both Vance and Obama, in their roles as salesmen of their administrations’ respective deals, argued that critics simply misunderstand the agreements.

“I just don’t think that people who are criticizing this, one, they’re not actually dealing with the reality of what’s in it, and No. 2, they don’t have an alternative,” Vance said in a podcast interview with Megyn Kelly this week. 

Obama told NPR’s Steve Inskeep in 2015 that critics of his deal get the facts wrong.

“I’ve listened to the critics, some of them who announced their opposition before they had even read the bill, or read the agreement. And that is that they will put forward arguments that after a few minutes can be shown as illogical or based on the wrong facts,” said Obama.

Vance challenged critics to come up with a better alternative beyond more fighting. 

“What is it that they wanted us to do besides put 300,000 ground troops in Iranian soil, which we were never going to do?” he said to Kelly. “If your alternative is just to drop bombs without any clear goal or any clear American interest implicated, then you’re not making wise decisions on behalf of the American people.”

Former Secretary of State John Kerry argued something similar before Congress in 2015.

“So what’s your plan?” he asked. “Totally go to war?”

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday issued a scathing public rebuke of Israeli officials who have criticized President Donald Trump for approving the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, cautioning Israeli skeptics of the deal against “attacking the only powerful ally” it has left and urging them to “wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in.”

Vance made the comments as part of his final answer at a White House press briefing regarding the MOU, directing his ire at members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet who have criticized the deal or the president himself. The vice president said he was angered by the harsh commentary, which he credited Netanyahu for not participating in.

“What I will say, and it does bother me, is that you have seen people within Bibi’s Cabinet who have come out and attacked the deal, and in some ways very personally attacked the president of the United States, and I guess my message to them would be twofold,” Vance said. “Number one, Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time and he happens to be the head of state of the world’s superpower. If I was 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.”

“The second message I would give to some of those Cabinet members — Bibi, to his credit, has not gone down this path,” Vance continued. “But to some of these Cabinet members in Israel who are attacking the president of the United States, the other thing that I would say is that 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,” he added. 

Vance then said, “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.”

The vice president pushed back on comparisons between the MOU and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that the Obama administration signed in 2015, arguing that the Arab world’s reaction to this current effort has been far more positive than its response to former President Barack Obama’s Iran deal. 

“There are going to be any number of opinions about the negotiations, about where it’s ultimately going to go, but I tend to think that you should trust the people who know the Iranians the best and who have the most to lose,” Vance said. “What are the Gulf Arab states saying about this deal? What are they saying about this deal compared to the JCPOA in 2015? This is the Obama nuclear deal. Well, back then they hated that deal. They felt like it empowered the Iranians to be bad actors across the region, and of course that’s exactly what happened.”

“What are they saying about the president’s peace deal? They’re saying this is an amazingly transformative thing for the region, because either way we and the broader region win,” he continued. “Iran is weakened, their nuclear program destroyed, their economy in desperate straits, and if they change their behavior, big things are going to happen for Iran and for the world.”

Vance doubled down when asked about Trump’s comments on Wednesday that the U.S. would not forbid Iran from possessing ballistic missiles and downplaying the threat of the regime continuing to have those weapons — despite it being a key goal of the negotiations.

“All the president said yesterday is that of course, countries don’t give up the right of self-defense. Israel doesn’t give up the right of self-defense if Hezbollah fires rockets or drones at Israel,” Vance said. 

“The Iranians don’t give up the right of self-defense in their country,” he added. “But we do expect that as part of the final deal, they are not going to be able to build the kind of missiles that can broadly threaten the entire world, and that’s what the president of the United States said yesterday. It’s very simple. You can’t tell a country whether Israel, Iran, they are not allowed to have any self-defense.”

Vance criticized U.S. sanctions against Iran, arguing that the effort to isolate Iran economically has been “fundamentally ineffective” despite it being a core part of Trump’s longstanding maximum-pressure campaign. The vice president said that the sanctions had forced Iran to “move the Iranian financial system to the shadow-banking system” where it was no longer subject to those penalties. 

“We didn’t see that as a major concession to the Iranians, frankly,” Vance told reporters, adding that Iran “didn’t see that as a concession to them, because what prevented them from selling oil was not the sanctions.”

He argued that the lifting of sanctions would allow the U.S. to have greater oversight of Iran’s financial activities while defending the Trump administration’s decision to allow Iran to immediately resume selling oil.

“The number one thing is that we actually see where the money moves now because of what we’ve done with the financial sanctions. We actually know where the money is going to move,” he explained. “So we have great confidence that we’re going to be able to see if they try to fund terrorist organizations.”

Still, he reiterated his claim that the MOU does not involve millions in payouts to Iran despite the agreement text stating that the U.S. “undertakes to develop a definitive, mutually agreed reconstruction and economic development plan for the Islamic Republic of Iran valued at a minimum of $300 billion (USD).”

“The United States isn’t giving up a cent of money to Iran, and even the economic benefits, the sanctions relief and so forth that comes along with this bargain, only happens if the Iranians perform,” Vance said. “We have them in an economic chokehold right now that we’re not going to release until they fundamentally change their behavior.”

“I’ve seen skeptics of the deal. People say the Iranians will never change their behavior. Well, maybe that’s true, and if so, they don’t get any of the benefits of the bargain. But isn’t it worth trying?” he continued. “Isn’t it worth seeing whether this incredibly weakened position that the president of the United States has put the Iranians under, whether that motivates them to change their behavior, not just vis-à-vis the West but vis-à-vis the Middle East.”

The vice president also expressed confidence that the Trump administration would be able to lift the sanctions without congressional approval, though he said that White House Legislative Affairs Director James Braid planned “to brief Congress very soon” on the broader terms of the deal.

“There are certain things that require congressional approval. There are certain things that don’t require congressional approval,” he said. “We feel quite confident that we can temporarily lift those sanctions without going to Congress and seeking their approval on that.”

Vice President JD Vance is increasingly becoming the face of Washington’s negotiations with Iran — setting him up to claim victory if the agreement is successful, or to take the fall if talks with the historically intransigent adversary collapse.

President Donald Trump said as much yesterday in France: “If it works out, I’m going to take the credit. If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD,” Trump quipped on the sidelines of the G7 summit, hours before signing the agreement alongside French President Emmanuel Macron in Versailles.

Trump is far from the only Republican in Washington to tie Vance to the deal. Some GOP legislators swiftly moved to tie Vance to the MOU — hours after it was announced. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has long advocated for military pressure against Iran, was one of the first, saying Sunday that it was “imperative that the architect of the deal, Vice President Vance and his negotiating partners, be part of the process in presenting the final deal to Congress.”

But the pressure on Vance quickly has spread through the party. On Wednesday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), a longtime backer of the president who is largely aligned with the GOP’s isolationist wing (where Vance has also found his political home), told reporters, “I wish the VP all the best of luck.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), without mentioning Vance by name, said that in moving forward with the MOU, “the president, unfortunately, is receiving bad advice once again.”

The criticism of Vance over the agreement with Iran extends beyond the capital. Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro said on Fox News on Wednesday that the MOU “appears to be, just from the text, a disaster that does not achieve any of the actual signal goals that were set by the administration at the beginning.” Directly addressing Vance’s role, Shapiro said, “The vice president of the United States, the chief negotiator on this particular project, has not well served the president.” Read more here on Shapiro’s comments.

Vance’s high-profile presence around the Iran negotiations draws attention to other senior members of the Trump administration — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — who have been notably absent from the White House’s public efforts to talk up the MOU.

Axios reported earlier this week that Rubio and Hegseth — who during the course of the war with Iran had often been front and center explaining the administration’s policies and actions — had opposed the MOU, while Vance, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner backed the agreement. 

Rubio, who has long taken a more hawkish approach to foreign policy — not just on Iran, but also on China, Russia, Cuba and other U.S. adversaries — was on hand this week at the G7. Rubio has been in France this week with Trump and was at his side when the president signed the agreement, but has largely avoided publicly commenting on the deal and its contours.

Iran has long boasted of its ability to drag out negotiations, betting (usually correctly) that it can take the economic hits and outlast the West. It may well be that Vance, who worked in venture capital and had not yet entered politics during the Obama administration’s yearslong talks that led to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is less familiar with Iran’s intransigence and ability to slow-walk diplomacy. 

After the midterms — now less than five months away — attention will shift to 2028. By then, if the administration’s timeline holds, a deal with Iran will either have been struck or will have collapsed. For Vance, who along with Rubio is expected to make a White House bid in two years’ time, the failure to bring about a resolution with Iran could become a major liability in the 2028 GOP primary.

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro criticized Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday, arguing that Vance’s support for the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran suggested that he was not serving President Donald Trump well. 

Shapiro made the comments, which mark his most direct criticism to date of Vance’s approach to Iran, to Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum”while offering a harsh assessment of the MOU in the hours after the Trump administration released the text of the agreement. He described the deal as “a disaster” and called out the vice president for his role in leading this particular diplomatic effort.

“The president deciding to go into Iran and to hit nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer and then to go after Iran’s ballistic missile facilities and nuclear facilities, army, navy and air force in this current operation was the signal act of political bravery perhaps of my lifetime,” Shapiro said. 

“With that said, this MOU appears to be, just from the text, a disaster that does not achieve any of the actual signal goals that were set by the administration at the beginning,” he continued. “In my opinion, the vice president of the United States, the chief negotiator on this particular project, has not well served the president.”

On his latest podcast episode on Wednesday, Shapiro praised Vance for his appearance on ABC’s “The View” and described him as an “undeniably talented politician,” though he questioned Vance’s decision to appear on Megyn Kelly’s show “to make overtures to Tucker Carlson.”

“Megyn Kelly is a person who has said that the Israelis manipulated the administration into war, who has laughed along to the proposition that the Republican Party is a bunch of Israel-loving pedophiles,” Shapiro said. “This is where the vice president chose to retail the argument.”

Shapiro also disputed Vance’s assertion to Kelly that opponents of the MOU were “promoting endless conflict” in the region. “They don’t have an alternative. If your alternative is just to drop bombs without any clear goal or any clear American interest implicated, then you’re not making wise decisions on behalf of the American people,” Vance said.

“An entire field of strawmen is now burning because this is what we colloquially call a lie. This is a lie,” Shapiro said. “An endless conflict would be, say, a 47-year conflict with an intransigent radical Islamist enemy that wants to destroy America.”

“Some of us have been calling for the president to end this war quickly, like from the beginning,” he continued. “I’ve been saying for literally months that instead of signing onto a useless ceasefire, that we ought to take or bomb Kharg Island, open the Straits with operations like Project Freedom, which the president announced and then unannounced, and then leave overwatch to our allies like Israel and the UAE. That is not an endless war.”

Shapiro went on to detail his objections to the MOU itself in his Fox appearance, arguing that the text of the deal did not address several major sticking points that led to the U.S. launching the war in the first place.

“There were effectively five goals that were set by the administration at the beginning. One was ending the nuclear program, not just nuclear weapons, no nuclear enrichment, zero enrichment. That is not in the deal. Ballistic missiles ended, that is not in the deal,” Shapiro said. “Then you have the support of terrorism, that is not part of the deal, anything that looks like an attempt to end terrorism.” 

“A permanent opening of the Strait of Hormuz toll free, not only is that not in the deal, the deal appears to have a provision allowing Iran and Oman to attempt to toll the Straits after 60 days,” he added. “Then finally, the idea that Iran would receive some sort of sanctions relief after all of those things happened. We are already seeing, from day one, relief in their ability to ship oil out of Iran.”

Shapiro expressed bewilderment at Trump’s comments earlier Wednesday suggesting that the U.S. would not forbid Iran from possessing ballistic missiles and downplaying the threat of the regime continuing to have those weapons — despite it being a key goal in entering the conflict. He also responded to Trump’s criticism of Israel’s conduct in its war against Hezbollah, defending the Israelis and pointing to previous statements by the president in support of Israel’s war aims. 

“The president today suggested that ballistic missiles should actually continue to be held by the Iranians because the Saudis, our allies, also hold ballistic missiles,” Shapiro said. “The fact is that the president himself has suggested that Israel has a right to defend itself. Ambassador [Mike] Huckabee, our ambassador to Israel, has said that Israel has a right to defend itself. Hezbollah is a terrorist group. It’s not the government of Lebanon, and in fact is opposed to the government of Lebanon. They’ve been firing ordnance over the border at Israel for literally years at this point.”

“The idea that Israel should be held back from defending itself against a terror group that is a proxy army of Iran, because we have some sort of deal over the Strait of Hormuz, is a massive tactical blunder that gives Iran one of the things that Iran actually wants, which is to reconstitute its forward operating base in Lebanon,” he continued. “Anything that allows them to reconstitute their terror army would be a huge regional mistake.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) offered a similar take on Wednesday, arguing that Trump was given “some very poor advice on this deal” while declining to go after the vice president by name.

“Giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea. Setting up Iran to be in charge of the Strait of Hormuz in perpetuity, and to charge tolls is not in America’s interest, in my view. The Ayatollah should not reap a single penny from the free transit of the seas,” Cruz told reporters. “I think the president, unfortunately, is receiving bad advice once again.”

Asked if he believes the president should not sign the MOU and abandon peace talks, the Texas senator replied: “That’s a decision he’s going to have to make.”

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son and one of Vance’s closest allies outside the White House, went on to attack Cruz on social media for his criticisms of the agreement.

Trump Jr. accused Cruz of “lying thru [sic] his teeth about the deal,” claiming in a post on X that the U.S. is “not giving them [Iran] a cent and he [Cruz] knows that.” He then alleged Cruz was “using fake news about the peace deal to undermine” the president, which he described as “the opposite of MAGA.”

According to the text of the MOU released on Wednesday, however, the U.S. “undertakes to develop a definitive, mutually agreed reconstruction and economic development plan for the Islamic Republic of Iran valued at a minimum of $300 billion (USD).”

The deal also includes language terminating “all sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran — including UN Security Council resolutions, IAEA Board of Governors resolutions, and all unilateral U.S. primary and secondary sanctions.”

Good Wednesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by Senior National Correspondent Gabby Deutch.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

After days in which President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other senior officials boosted the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding — and amid calls from Capitol Hill and beyond to make public the agreement’s details — the White House on Wednesday shared the text of the document that the Trump administration said will end the war against Tehran. Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs obtained the text of the MOU, which was read aloud to reporters during a call with a senior administration official.

The MOU states that the two nations “and their respective allies in the current war” will permanently end military operations — including against Lebanon, a stipulation that suggests the deal is meant to suspend Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Hezbollah, a provision for which Israel has not yet expressed approval. Iran “reaffirms” in the MOU that it will not “procure or develop nuclear weapons”…

The MOU text also reveals that the U.S. plans to issue a sanctions waiver to Iran so that it can sell oil, a major policy shift away from Trump’s use of sanctions against Iran. If a final deal is reached, the U.S. committed to ending all sanctions on Iran. Trump said earlier in the day at the G7 summit in France that the U.S. will not invest in Iran but would not stop other countries from doing so, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.

One new piece of information Trump shared on Wednesday that was not directly addressed in the MOU: a nuclear deal between Washington and Tehran would not prohibit the Iranians from possessing ballistic missiles, JI’s Matthew Shea reports. “I mean, they have to have some, because other people have some … It doesn’t work that way. And missiles aren’t the problem,” Trump said at the G7.

The agreement does not address Iran’s ballistic missiles or support for terrorist proxies. At the beginning of the war, the Trump administration said eliminating the ballistic missile threat from Iran was a key war aim…

The MOU asserts that a final deal will be negotiated within 60 days, unless both countries agree to extend the deadline. Iran’s naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz must be lifted within 30 days. 

When talking to reporters after landing in Paris this afternoon, Trump said he does not view the 60-day deadline as a hard deadline. “Just as long as they’re behaving, I really don’t care that much,” Trump said.

Vance, not Trump, will be signing the MOU in Switzerland on Friday. “This way if it works out, I’m going to take the credit. If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD,” Trump said during the G7…

Some Republican senators criticized the MOU, with retiring Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) calling it “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” JI’s Marc Rod reports…

Dario Amodei and Sam Altman, the CEOs, respectively, of Anthropic and OpenAI, joined Trump and the other G7 leaders for lunch on Wednesday, along with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis… 

The planned Senate confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee to serve as director of national intelligence, was scuttled on Wednesday morning after a last-minute Truth Social post from the president saying that the hearing would be canceled, prompting frustration from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, JI’s Marc Rod reports…

As a major shareholder in Volkswagen, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is complicating talks between the German automaker and the Israeli state-owned defense company Rafael over Rafael’s intention to buy a plant from Volkswagen to manufacture components for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense systems…

The anti-Israel advocacy group TrackAIPAC, which attacks lawmakers who have received support from pro-Israel groups and donors who have supported Israel-related causes, endorsed Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who once was targeted by TrackAIPAC before moving sharply to the left on Israel in recent months…

After eight people were indicted last week for allegedly threatening University of Michigan leaders and their families as part of an anti-Israel pressure campaign, former Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lon Johnson called on the party’s current leadership to review the actions of five of the suspects who were members of the Michigan Democratic Party…

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced on Wednesday that it is opening an antisemitism investigation into the American Psychological Association, the nation’s largest professional organization for mental health professionals. JI’s Gabby Deutch reported on the APA’s handling of antisemitism last summer…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at how some of the country’s most prominent Jewish communal leaders are marking America’s 250th birthday this July Fourth.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) will be speaking in the morning at a fireside chat at the Hudson Institute focused on “diplomacy, defense and debt.”

We’ll be monitoring the results of Tuesday’s mayoral primary election in Washington, D.C., which still has not been called, even as Janeese Lewis George leads Kenyan McDuffie 53% to 37%, with 68% of the vote counted. 

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Top Trump administration officials shared new details on Monday about the memorandum of understanding reached by the U.S. and Iran over the weekend, arguing that the new agreement is substantially better than the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and could pave the way for a new relationship between Washington and Tehran.

During an interview with CNBC, Vice President JD Vance said he expects the Strait of Hormuz to be opened immediately “in a toll-free way for the long term.” Vance indicated that he has observed more traffic flow in the strait following the announcement of the deal, but that the way in which the strait fully opens will be determined in technical negotiations. 

“What this agreement does is say to the Iranians that ‘You don’t have access to the money to rebuild that nuclear program, but if you’re willing to give up that program long-term, if you’re willing to accept the inspections and verification regime that’s necessary to give us the confidence you’re never going to have a nuclear weapon, then we want you to be a prosperous country, and we will re-invite you into the community of nations,’” Vance said.

Vance said that Iran has agreed to never develop or procure a nuclear weapon and that the U.S. will ensure its stockpile of enriched material is destroyed, adding that technical talks will determine if U.S. ground troops will observe or play an active role in destroying it. He also argued that the latest MOU differs from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed under former President Barack Obama in 2015.

The vice president has stated that Iran’s nuclear program and capacity to enrich uranium have both been devastated by the U.S. and Israeli military campaign. 

“We have comprehensively destroyed their nuclear program, and this agreement is about ensuring that they don’t rebuild it,” Vance said. “The JCPOA was mainly about bribing them to stop the construction or to cease a nuclear program that was already in progress. It’s a very different background, a very different sort of leverage, and I think really a different outcome for the American people.”

Vance also dismissed reports that Iran would receive billions of dollars without the funding being conditioned on the completion of certain steps, a clarification he made during an interview with CBS. 

“When people say that billions of dollars of assets will be released, that’s not true,” Vance said. “What is true is that [there will be] a much better and much more prosperous future if they [Iran] meet the obligations they make in this agreement … that’s one of the things we’re going to work out in the technical talks that will follow the official signing on Friday.”

Vance stressed that the Iranians would attain frozen or other monetary assets only upon meeting verifiable benchmarks. He confirmed that Iran could receive $300 billion in reconstruction funding, as well as $24 billion in frozen assets, but emphasized that the funding would be conditioned on Tehran meeting its obligations.

“It’s set up in such a way where we’re going to have to attach their commitments to deliverables that then are met with economic benefits for the Iranian people,” Vance said on CNN. “On the other hand, if they [Iran] try to rebuild it [their nuclear program] they’re never going to get the financial resources that they would need to rebuild.” 

The vice president said that the U.S. has not expended “a single dollar of sanctions relief or unfrozen assets,” stating that reports otherwise are likely from hardliners “within the Iranian system…in an effort to sell it to certain domestic populations.” 

However, Vance said the U.S. is “open to a lot of things that are on the table.”

“That $24 billion just doesn’t appear anywhere in any of the texts that we’ve talked about with the Iranians,” Vance said. “What we have said is that we’re willing to talk about unfreezing assets, but a much, much bigger deal is un-sanctioning their economy, so long as they make the long-term commitments on the nuclear program.”

When asked whether the agreement would require Iran to halt support for U.S.-designated terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, Vance indicated that it would, although the specific wording in the agreement appeared to be vague.

“What paragraph one of the agreement says is effectively that Iran commits itself, just as the United States commits itself, to regional peace and stability and part of that is that the Iranians have to stop funding violent terrorist organizations,” Vance said. “They know that we don’t want them to fund terrorist organizations..and be a source of instability in the region.”

The vice president touted the “level of direct connection” established through the latest negotiations, noting that “the people at the highest levels of the United States government are talking to the people at the highest levels of the Iranian government.”

“This is a very interesting thing about these negotiations, is you see people, both the hardliners, but also the more political people, saying, ‘Our relationship with the United States over the past 47 years has been a mistake. Let’s turn over a new leaf,’” he added.

A senior administration official told reporters on Monday that an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon would not be part of the deal, despite Iranian officials’ insistence that it would be included.

The senior administration official confirmed that nuclear discussions would likely occur first and said the agreement “contemplates” the reduction of U.S. military forces in the region “upon the agreement of a final deal.” However, the official noted that Iran will need to “make some concessions and give up some of their activities and some of their nuclear program.”

A senior U.S. official called out “hardliners on both sides,” saying that they are rooting against “compromise” and “making a lot of noise.”

“There’s a lot of misinformation out there,” the official said. “I think that in any field that I’ve been involved in, I would say nobody roots for the referee. There’s not really a constituency for compromise. So what you’re seeing now is that the hardliners on both sides…we have certain people in the American system who say there’s no deal you could ever do with Iran ever, are obviously making a lot of noise.”

While the full details of the MOU have yet to be released, President Donald Trump indicated on Monday that he expects the document to be made public “sometime after Friday.” 

“I want it to be released because it is a really powerful document,” Trump told reporters during a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France. “It is not like the Obama documents.”

However, Trump warned that should the deal fall apart, tensions between the U.S. and Iran could return to “where we started.”

“We have done a great job and hopefully it is going to be a good relationship, and we are going to get along,” Trump said. “If we don’t, we go back to where we started, but I don’t think that is necessary.”

A year and a day after Israeli fighter jets first opened fire above Iran, setting off a year of intermittent fighting and numerous failed negotiations, President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that an agreement with Iran to end the war had been reached. A signing ceremony set for later this week in Switzerland — which is expected to be attended by Vice President JD Vance — will kick off a 60-negotiation period to address Iran’s nuclear program and U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

For Americans, the deal closes a chapter that saw high gas and food prices as well as schisms in the GOP as the party’s wings fought over how the war should be fought and ended. Among Democrats, legislators and activists from the party’s progressive wing — from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) to the National Iranian American Council’s Trita Parsi (who additionally gloated, “Netanyahu failed!”) — praised the deal.

But Israel was not part of the negotiations, nor did it have final say in what was in the agreement inked between Washington and Tehran. As the Is were dotted and Ts were crossed on the agreement, tensions between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — already on display following Israel’s threatened escalation last week in Beirut, followed by an actual escalation on Sunday when Israel struck Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood — deepened. In a call on Sunday after Israel conducted the strike — later claiming to have killed a senior Hezbollah commander — Trump told Axios he had conveyed to Netanyahu that he “was so pissed off.” Netanyahu, Trump said, “has no f***ing judgement. I let him know that.”

In Israel, the deal is being met with dismay across the board, as neither of the war goals laid out by Netanyahu last June — removing Iran’s “existential threats” to Israel and ending Tehran’s support for its terror proxies across the region — have been met, even after a year of fighting.

With elections in the country fast approaching, Netanyahu, who has long billed himself as “Mr. Security,” is already finding himself on the receiving end of criticism from across the political spectrum. Former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman blasted the deal as “catastrophe from Israel’s perspective,” while prominent right-wing Israeli journalist Amit Segal posted an ominous quote from former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger: “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.”

The question now is what, exactly, is in the agreement. Iran’s state-linked Mehr agency reported that under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. will release $12 billion in frozen assets to Iran before talks begin.

Fox News reported that the $12 billion figure, as well as other reports of the deal’s stipulations, are incorrect, and that officials within the Trump administration are growing frustrated over rumors about the contours of the agreement.

Calls for the deal’s text to be made public have come from even Trump’s staunchest supporters. Commentator Mark Levin said he has “asked for days, why can’t we, the people, see the damn MOU?” Levin added that he had “never seen anything like this. If it is a great outcome for peace, then release it.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on X on Sunday that he was “somewhat concerned” that Iran’s account of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal diverges sharply from what the U.S. negotiators are claiming, and demanded Vice President JD Vance personally present the deal to Congress. 

The vice president, who two months ago traveled to Pakistan for high-level negotiations with Iranian officials, has increasingly become the public face of the Iran talks. In an interview last week that aired yesterday on “CBS Sunday Morning,” Vance said he believed “that we are in a position to get a deal that is good for the United States economically and that really does deal with the Iranian nuclear program” in the long term.

For Vance, the success or failure of the deal, and of the negotiations to follow, could become one of the defining political issues of his rumored 2028 presidential bid — one in which he will likely find himself up against Secretary of State Marco Rubio in what could be a bruising primary.

With the deal’s signing later this week, the military phase of the war — begun just over a year ago — will conclude. But what comes next is the political phase, which will determine Iran’s nuclear future, Israeli security policy and the direction of U.S. foreign policy in the region for decades to come. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Sunday he is “somewhat concerned” that Iran’s account of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal diverges sharply from what the U.S. negotiators are claiming, and demanded Vice President JD Vance personally present the deal to Congress.

Iranian state media has claimed that the memorandum of understanding with the United States requires the release of all sanctions on Iran, a $300 billion reconstruction plan financed by the United States and its allies and the release of nearly $30 billion in blocked Iranian funds, and excludes any negotiation of Iran’s missile program or support for terrorism.

“I am pleased to hear the memorandum of understanding with Iran to allow the Strait of Hormuz to open has been agreed to. I will be watching closely the ensuing negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear program and other matters,” Graham said on X. “I am somewhat concerned that Iran’s view of the agreement seems different than what the American negotiating team is claiming.”

He emphasized that the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA) requires the administration to send any nuclear deal with Iran to Congress for review and a vote.

“I look forward to reviewing the final product and I believe it is imperative that the architect of the deal, Vice President Vance and his negotiating partners, be part of the process in presenting the final deal to Congress,” Graham said. “Congratulations to all in getting us to this point. Time will tell.”

Earlier in the day, Graham also diverged from President Donald Trump on Israel’s strike on Hezbollah in Beirut, which Trump sharply criticized. Graham emphasized that “we must understand who we are dealing with” and that Hezbollah’s strikes on Israel have continued in spite of the ceasefire deal.

“It is clear to me that no matter what deal we sign with Iran, Hezbollah’s stated ambitions of destroying Israel and making Lebanon a caliphate have not fundamentally changed,” Graham said.

He also reposted an X post by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, praising Israel for eliminating the Hezbollah commander targeted in the attack.

“To the IDF and all involved in taking out this terrorist with American blood on his hands and a bounty on his head for attacking US troops – thank you. America has no better friend than Israel,” Graham said. “We have common values and common enemies. Israel is a blessing to America’s national security.”

Other Republicans offered more unqualified support for the deal — indicating that Republicans are likely to line up behind the administration when the deal comes before Congress.

While not outright praising the deal itself, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said that “President Trump is the first to use both diplomacy and force to bring the terrorist regime to the table,” while emphasizing Iran’s long-running attacks against the United States and against the Iranian people.

“Let’s pray for peace and an end to the nuclear threat from the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism,” Lankford continued.

Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-IN) praised Trump, saying “President Trump had the courage to act where presidents of both parties only made promises. He has been unequivocal for decades: Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon. Today, he kept that promise.”

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), who represents a hotly contested swing district, said “Today is a good day for America and for the world.”

“I am glad to see this conflict come to an end,” Miller-Meeks continued. “My hope is that lasting peace is restored in the region, that energy prices continue to fall for American families, and that Iran is never again a nuclear threat to the United States or our allies.”

Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, hailed diplomacy with Iran in general, asserting that it is the only way to restrain Iran, but said he wants to see the details of the agreement.

“As to this current negotiation, the terms, not the press release, will determine whether this serves American interests. Any final agreement must be durable, enforceable, transparent, and subject to rigorous oversight by Congress,” Meeks said in a statement. “The American people deserve more than vague announcements or political spin. They deserve security, clear answers and the confidence that this administration will not repeat the failures that led us into this unauthorized and costly war.”

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), said the announcement “if true… is a step in the right direction to end the reckless war he started,” but questioned the veracity of the administration’s announcement and the details of the agreement.

“While a ceasefire and negotiations are a positive development, so far this war of choice has only made American service members and civilians less safe and left many key questions unanswered or unaddressed,” Coons said.

Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY), a moderate pro-Israel Democrat, expressed some reservations about the deal.

“Thankfully the ceasefire with Iran may now alleviate the pain being felt at the pump. There should have been a clear plan from the administration at the outset of this war,” Gillen said on X. “I fear that the leading state sponsor of terrorism will emerge stronger than before as a result. That cannot happen.”

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), a potential 2028 presidential contender who led early efforts to end the war in the House, said “Democrats should support” the agreement and that he’s “glad it includes a provision for mutual respect of the US & Iran’s sovereignty so we do not launch a dumb war of choice again.”

Khanna also said the terms of the deal “seem no better” than the 2016 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), another potential 2028 contender, said that it remains uncertain whether there will be a deal, but if there is “it’s essentially a surrender to Iran” but that the U.S. should nonetheless “be glad about it, because every day this insane, illegal war continues, we get weaker.”

Jacob Reses, the longtime chief of staff to Vice President JD Vance, will depart the Trump administration at the end of the summer, a source familiar with the matter confirms to Jewish Insider.

Reses, 35, became a confidante to Vance in 2021, advising the vice president through the heated primary and general election contests for the Ohio Senate seat Vance briefly held before being tapped by President Donald Trump as his running mate in 2024. Vance named Reses his chief of staff immediately after winning the Senate race. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who had employed Reses as a senior advisor in his Senate office, was among those who encouraged Vance to pick Reses as his chief at the time, according to two sources familiar with the matter. 

News of his departure was first reported by NBC News.

Reses has not announced what his next role will be, though he informed the vice president of his plans to leave several months ago, after learning he and his wife were expecting their first child. He married Rachel Altman, the director of outreach at the Foundation for American Innovation, a tech think tank, in January. A source in the vice president’s office suggested to JI that Reses could rejoin the team at some point down the line, but did not elaborate beyond noting that it would come as no surprise if that occurred. 

“Jacob’s been by my side for my whole career in public life. I can’t imagine having been on this life-changing journey without him,” Vance said in a statement. “From day one of my time as a senator-elect, I could not have asked for a more loyal and discerning advisor and friend as my chief of staff. I’ll miss him dearly, but he won’t be far, and I plan to keep his counsel close until our paths cross again.”

Other senior Trump administration officials similarly surmised that Reses would remain close.

“Don’t let Jacob fool you – beneath his kind exterior he’s a killer. It’s been a delight to get to know him through the vice president, and our foreign adventures from Israel to Pakistan have been historic,” White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said in a statement. “He commands respect in every room he walks into, and I’ve been proud to have him by my side in negotiating some of the toughest deals for the president. We haven’t seen the last of him.”

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said in a statement that Reses “will always be a friend and ally we can all rely upon and I hope will come back often.”

“Jacob has been an important part of our White House leadership team and has served the Vice President with absolute distinction. From diplomacy and war, to complicated matters, to the most minute logistics, there has been no task too big or too small for him to tackle,” Wiles said. “It has been a privilege to have a partner like Jacob in the vice president’s office with such humility, discretion, and loyalty. He will be missed in the halls of the West Wing, but he will always be a friend and ally we can all rely upon and I hope will come back often.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described Reses as “tough, smart, hardworking, and loyal – the perfect combination to succeed in the Trump White House.” 

“I’ll always appreciate his ability to give wise and honest counsel, and you’ll never meet anyone more focused on putting the team first,” Blanche said. “I’m grateful to have had Jacob as a colleague, and while I’m going to miss working with him to advance the president’s agenda, I’m excited to see what he does next.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also praised Reses and said he would be missed in the administration.

“When I met Jacob over dinner shortly before the Republican convention, I had no idea we would be such close partners in the years to come,” Bessent said. “His counsel to me and to the vice president has been invaluable as we have fought to reshore critical industries and rebalance the economy from debt-driven consumption to production, saving, and investment. We will miss him enormously.”

“Jacob has served the vice president and the entire administration with distinction. He understands the moment we’re in and he spent every day fighting to deliver results for the president,” Rubio’s statement read. “His intellect, leadership, and humor will be missed.”

Reses has worked with a number of prominent figures in the MAGA political movement besides Vance and Hawley, such as Tucker Carlson, Stephen Miller, Russell Vought and Michael Needham, as well as Heritage Action, an affiliate of the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Vice President JD Vance tapped Cliff Sims last month as his national security advisor last month, picking a longtime GOP operative with close relationships across the party’s ideological spectrum on foreign policy. 

The hire bolsters Vance’s foreign policy operation at a time when intraparty fissures are widening over the lack of diplomatic or military progress in the war with Iran and the broader question of American engagement abroad.

Sims will be leading Vance’s foreign policy team alongside Andy Baker, one of the vice president’s closest aides and a deputy national security advisor. 

Sims is a longtime political ally of President Donald Trump, a friend of several members of the Trump family — including Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. — and has longstanding personal and professional relationships throughout the president’s orbit and in Republican politics. 

In addition to being a Vance confidante, Sims, 42, has advised or worked with Trump, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, most recently serving as chairman of the CIA’s external advisory board. 

Sims is known in Republican foreign policy circles as a China hawk. He led several China-related efforts during his tenure as director of message strategy for the White House and deputy director of national intelligence for strategy and communications at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Sims and Ratcliffe co-authored numerous op-eds from late 2021 to early 2022 where the two claimed the Chinese Communist Party poses the greatest threat to U.S. national security. 

After serving as deputy director of national intelligence under Ratcliffe in the first Trump administration, Sims was appointed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as a commissioner on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in 2024, serving a two-year term. Later that year, he took over as executive director of the Trump 2024 presidential transition, also leading the CIA’s transition process from the Biden administration to the current one. 

“Cliff served as one of my deputies when I was DNI and I saw firsthand his exceptional judgment and command of the most sensitive national security matters,” Ratcliffe told JI. “He has been a fearless advocate for President Trump’s foreign policy, and one of my most trusted advisors. Vice President Vance made an outstanding choice in selecting Cliff as a national security advisor.”

Unlike with China, Sims’ views on Middle East policy are not as clear. 

Two sources with direct knowledge of his ideology in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Jewish Insider that Sims believes that some issues can be solved through U.S. military action without engaging in extended military intervention, which he opposes.   

Both sources said that Sims and Vance are closely aligned on foreign policy, especially regarding China. 

One source argued that Sims’ experience in political communications and speechwriting will be an asset for Vance with messaging on the war in Iran amid the ongoing negotiations to pursue a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.

Vance’s decision to tap Sims has been a source of reassurance to some in the pro-Israel community who have been concerned about Vance’s foreign policy worldview and relationships with antisemitic podcasters like Tucker Carlson.  

Sims’ hiring won praise from two of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s board members who worked with Sims at the conservative public affairs firm, Watchtower Strategy, that they cofounded last year.

Jeff Miller, a leading Republican lobbyist and the board chair of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, told JI that Sims “knows the president’s and vice president’s foreign policy inside and out.”

“I’ve seen firsthand his talent and competence and he’s going to be a great asset to the White House, and not just on U.S.-Israel issues, but across the whole national security landscape,” Miller said of Sims. 

Dan Conston, former president of the Congressional Leadership Fund, the House GOP super PAC, similarly celebrated Sims joining Vance’s team.

“Cliff has talked often about his support for Israel’s unconditional right to destroy Hamas, particularly after the Oct. 7 attacks, and his belief that Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon,” Conston told JI. “Like the president, Cliff’s always going to put America’s interests first, and where Israel’s interests and U.S. interests align, Israel couldn’t ask for a better friend.”

Before joining the second Trump administration, Sims also ran a strategic advisory firm and served on the board of POLARIS National Security, a nonprofit that supports political candidates who prioritize defense concerns. The group was founded by Morgan Ortagus, who briefly served on White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s team last year before joining U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz’s staff in New York. Ortagus is a close ally of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and other hawkish Republicans.

An Alabama native, Sims is also a lifelong Baptist who participated in Christian missionary work in Europe, Africa, Asia and North and South America. He wrote a book, released in May 2024, using stories about his time in the West Wing and his personal upbringing to offer reflections on how Christian Americans should use their faith as a compass to navigate the current hyper-partisan nature of U.S. politics. 

He also is the author of a 2019 tell-all that led to a temporary falling out with the president, in which he detailed how several of Trump’s foreign policy decisions framed parts of his worldview. The book initially sparked the president’s ire despite its positive portrayal of him for exposing the chaotic nature of the first Trump administration, one source told JI.

Sims wrote in the memoir, Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House, that Trump’s unemotional reaction to Palestinian protests in response to his decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem was a significant life lesson, while praising the president’s move.

“The president had done nothing wrong. He had taken a stand and made good on a promise that [former presidents] Clinton, Bush, and Obama had all bailed on. I was proud of what he had done — we all were,” Sims wrote. “But I could not help but feel uncomfortable as he calmly watched a mob carry a stuffed Trump through the streets hanging on a cross.”

“I find it difficult to explain what it feels like to watch that level of hatred being displayed on TV screens all over the world while standing right next to the person at whom the hatred is being directed. And yet the president was the calm in the eye of the storm,” he continued. “I learned something important from the president that day — something that I have tried to make a core operating principle in my life: you have to make peace with being misunderstood.”

Sims came back into the fold and mended his relationship with the president in early 2020, just prior to joining Ratcliffe’s team at ODNI, a source with direct knowledge told JI. Trump agreed to the rapprochement after Kushner and Trump Jr. urged him to consider resolving their dispute and defended Sims’ 2019 tell-all for portraying the president positively.

In a wide-ranging New York Times interview published on Saturday, far-right podcaster Tucker Carlson offered an unusually personal defense of Vice President JD Vance, describing him as a close friend while suggesting he is being undermined by hawkish forces inside the White House amid tensions over the administration’s military actions in Iran.

Carlson, who played a key role in encouraging President Donald Trump to select Vance as his 2024 running mate, said he remains a close supporter of the vice president on a personal level. 

“I couldn’t be a bigger fan of him as a man,” Carlson told New York Times podcast host Lulu Garcia-Navarro. He added that Vance is “in a tough spot” because his long-held foreign policy views clash with the administration’s decision to attack Iran in February.

Carlson went on: “I know him well and think so much of him as a person. And it is my guess that, based on his past behavior, that he’s doing everything he can to mitigate what he sees as the ill effects of [the Iran war]. But it’s kind of hard to call the shots when you’re vice president, because that’s not in the Constitution.”

Pressed by Garcia-Navarro when he last spoke to the vice president, Carlson declined to answer. “I don’t know. I mean, I would never characterize that,” he said. “I don’t want to cause him more problems. I would just say I’m not advising. No one’s seeking my counsel. I’m not trying to influence anything. I gave it my best shot. Didn’t work.”

Carlson also took a swipe at Secretary of State Marco Rubio, baselessly alleging that backers of Washington’s top diplomat have been engaging in “nonstop treachery” against Vance. “There are people in the White House who want to hurt JD Vance and have wanted that since the very first day. They were bitter. They wanted Marco Rubio to be the choice as vice president,” Carlson said.

The comments come as Carlson — once a key Trump ally — has publicly broken with the president over Iran policy, describing Trump as being possessed by demonic forces.

Trump, for his part, gave an interview to the New York Post last month calling Carlson a fool and irrelevant to his decision-making. “Tucker’s a low IQ person that has absolutely no idea what’s going on,” the president told the Post. “He calls me all the time; I don’t respond to his calls. I don’t deal with him. I like dealing with smart people, not fools.”

As Vice President JD Vance has recently found himself navigating tenuous negotiations between the United States and Iran, his central role in the talks to end the war is highlighting his own vulnerabilities on the domestic front — where he is facing pushback from the isolationist right that is seen as part of his coalition. 

In many ways, Vance’s political troubles recall his predecessor, former Vice President Kamala Harris, who in her 2024 presidential campaign drew fierce protests from far-left activists who objected to former President Joe Biden’s support for Israel amid the war in Gaza.

Harris, who has grown more openly critical of Israel since losing the race and leaving office, strained both to articulate a consistent message on Gaza that would satisfy the far and center left and to distance her campaign from an aging, unpopular president whose approach to Israel, according to her recent memoir, was not fully aligned with her own.

Anti-Israel activists continue to insist, even years after the election, that Harris’ association with Biden while he supported Israel’s war against Hamas cost her votes that contributed to her defeat, while pro-Israel Democrats claim she failed to draw red lines around growing extremism within the party that alienated moderates, and is now inflecting the midterm elections. More recently, the former vice president faced anti-Israel hecklers during a book tour last year.        

In recent weeks, Vance, who is widely seen as a top 2028 presidential prospect, has likewise struggled to appease a restive coalition of anti-war critics on the populist right who feel his alignment with President Donald Trump’s robust foreign policy agenda represents not only a betrayal of their values but also the noninterventionist views he himself had long espoused.

Last week, in a disruption reminiscent of Harris’ campaign experience, Vance was notably heckled during a speaking appearance at a Turning Point USA event held at the University of Georgia, where an attendee interrupted his comments to accuse the Trump administration of supporting “genocide” in Gaza and “killing children.”

“If you want to complain about what happened in Gaza, why don’t you complain about Joe Biden and the last administration? We’re the administration that solved that problem,” Vance said in response to the heckler, after defending what he called Trump’s “peace agreement in Gaza.”

He also touted his so far unsuccessful efforts to broker a resolution to the Iran war — about which he reportedly voiced resistance behind the scenes before Trump greenlit the campaign in late February — saying he is pursuing the president’s goal to achieve an ambiguously outlined “grand bargain” on nuclear enrichment.

“The United States had never had meetings at that level with the Iranian government in 49 years,” Vance said at the event, days after returning from talks with Iran in Islamabad where he tried and failed to reach a diplomatic agreement.

The vice president was expected on Tuesday to leave for resumed negotiations in the Pakistani capital as a two-week ceasefire was set to soon expire, but his trip was put on hold and the ceasefire extended, raising questions about the prospect of a swift settlement.

While Vance had sought to keep the war at arm’s length in the initial days after the attack on Iran, his high-profile position in the negotiation process has now forced him to identify more closely with the sort of foreign military conflict he had built his political career on opposing. 

As a junior senator from Ohio, Vance even wrote in a January 2023 opinion piece that he was supporting Trump’s reelection campaign because the president “started no wars” in his first four years in the White House.

With Trump’s approval ratings trending downward — and as Republicans fret that the war in Iran as well as rising gasoline prices could undercut their chances of holding the House and Senate in the midterms — much is riding on Vance’s efforts to put an end to the conflict as he lays the groundwork for a potential White House bid.

While polling has shown that Trump’s war aims continue to garner widespread backing within his party, including the MAGA wing, independent voters who were a key part of his winning coalition in 2024 are divided, as are younger voters whom Vance has targeted.

In Georgia last week, Vance seemed to acknowledge disappointment among audience members over the war. “I recognize that young voters do not love the policy we have in the Middle East, OK,” he said. “I understand.”

“I’m not saying you have to agree with me on every issue,” he said at the Turning Point event. “What I am saying is: Don’t get disengaged because you disagree with the administration on one topic. Get more involved, make your voice heard even more. That is how we ultimately take the country back.”

Ahead of 2028, Vance is no doubt hoping that his involvement in the Iran negotiations will help yield a deal that satisfies the president and that he can wave before the far-right base he has continued to indulge, even as it has grown increasingly hostile to Jews and Israel.

Meanwhile, Vance has at the same time made some overtures to pro-Israel Republican donors skeptical of his close relationship with Tucker Carlson, a vocal detractor of Israel whose commentary regularly veers into antisemitic rhetoric that the vice president has ignored or downplayed.

But as Harris’ problems demonstrated two years ago, Vance may ultimately find it is not possible to have it both ways.

Heckled over Gaza at a Turning Point USA event on Tuesday evening, Vice President JD Vance claimed that “the humanitarian situation in Gaza was an absolute catastrophe” when Trump returned to office last January and criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict, though he did not defend Israel against the attack. 

An attendee at the event at the University of Georgia repeatedly shouted that the Trump administration was supporting “genocide” in Gaza by backing Israel’s war against Hamas.

“You know who’s the person who got a peace agreement in Gaza? Donald J. Trump,” Vance told the heckler. “So if you want to complain about what happened in Gaza, why don’t you complain about Joe Biden and the last administration? We’re the administration that solved that problem.”

“Right now, you see more humanitarian aid coming into Gaza than … any time in the past five years because we have taken that situation seriously,” he continued. “That’s one of the things I’m proud of about our administration, whether it’s there or Thailand and Cambodia, we have consistently tried as much as we can to solve these problems.”

Vance also revealed at the event that Theo Von was one of his favorite podcasters and recommended young people listen to his show — despite the influencer’s record of anti-Israel and antisemitic comments.

Vance made the comments after being asked by a child in the audience during a question and answer period who he looked up to in the conservative movement when he was growing up and which current “influencers” he’d recommend young people listen to. 

The vice president responded by pointing to James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, an Evangelical organization aimed at promoting traditional conservative family policies, as an early influence in his life, and encouraged young people to listen to Von, himself and the current hosts of the Charlie Kirk Podcast.

Von has made a series of antisemitic and anti-Israel statements in recent years on his and other podcasts. He claimed to Joe Rogan in a November 2024 appearance on his podcast that Jews control liberal media and “hate White guys.” He referred to neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes as “f***ing brave” during a January episode of his podcast alongside anti-Israel comedian Dave Smith, and warned Israel not to kill him while saying he was “not suicidal” last October amid reports about concerns for his mental health. 

Vance has appeared on Von’s podcast before, sitting down for an interview last June where he defended Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza after Von described it as a “genocide.” Trump also appeared on Von’s podcast in August 2024, during his presidential campaign. In May last year, the White House took Von to speak to U.S. troops at a military base in Qatar, ahead of Trump’s address.

The vice president emphasized his support at another point during the event for continuing to engage with Iranian leadership to reach a negotiated settlement to end the fighting and reshape the two countries’ relationship, and said he was going to keep working toward that outcome. Vance said while detailing the status of negotiations between Washington and Tehran that the U.S. has not agreed to a diplomatic settlement to end the conflict because President Donald Trump “really wants a deal where Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon.”

“Fundamentally, the president set a policy: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and right now we are negotiating to make sure that very thing happens,” Vance said. 

Trump, Vance argued, “doesn’t want to make … a small deal. He wants to make the grand bargain. And what he’s basically offering to Iran is very simple, and frankly, it’s something that no president, I think, has had the ability to offer. He said that, ‘if you’re willing to act like a normal country, we are willing to treat you economically like a normal country.’”

The comments came following reports that U.S. negotiators asked Iran to agree to not enrich uranium for 20 years as part of a peace deal, which Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday he was displeased about. 

“I’ve been saying they can’t have nuclear weapons, so I don’t like the 20 years,” Trump told the outlet. 

Vance described the president’s offer to improve the U.S.-Iran relationship in exchange for the regime committing to abandoning its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons as a “Trumpian grand bargain” that he was “going to keep on negotiating” toward. 

“What’s interesting about this is that we have this ceasefire that’s in place, I think it’s six or seven days old right now. The ceasefire is holding,” Vance said. “And that’s one of the reasons why I’d say, in Pakistan, we made a ton of progress,” he added, referring to his direct talks with Iranian leadership over the weekend.

“The United States had never had meetings at that level with the Iranian government in 49 years, like it’s a meeting that had never before happened, not Democrat, not Republican,” he continued. 

Tuesday’s event was originally supposed to feature a conversation between the vice president and Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk and his successor as TPUSA’s CEO. Kirk pulled out of appearing at the event late Tuesday after her security team advised her against appearing due to “very serious threats.” Since her husband’s assassination last September, Kirk has been targeted by far-right conspiracy theorists, led by Candace Owens, claiming that she was involved in the assassination of her husband. 

Vance condemned those criticizing Kirk but did not call out Owens or others by name, telling the crowd, “Everybody is attacking her over everything, and they’re lying about her, and it’s one of the most disgraceful things that I’ve ever seen in public life, and I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff in my life.”

A day before U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, Vice President JD Vance urged the Iranian regime on Wednesday to take President Donald Trump’s diplomatic overtures “seriously,” cautioning that the president has “a number of tools at his disposal” to keep the “craziest and worst regime in the world” from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Vance made the comments while appearing on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” after being asked about Trump’s comments at the State of the Union on Tuesday night, during which the president underscored his willingness to use force while acknowledging his preference for a diplomatic solution. 

“The president has been as crystal clear as he could be: Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon. That would be the ultimate military objective if that’s the route that he chose,” Vance said. “That is what we’re trying to accomplish, as the president said, through the preferred route of diplomacy, but it’s very simple: We have to get to a position where Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, cannot threaten the world with nuclear terrorism.”

“I think most Americans understand that you can’t let the craziest and worst regime in the world have nuclear weapons. That’s what the president is accomplishing, that’s what the president has set as our goal,” he continued. “He’s going to try to accomplish it diplomatically, but as we all know, the president has a number of other tools at his disposal to ensure this doesn’t happen. He’s shown a willingness to use them, and I hope the Iranians take it seriously in their negotiations tomorrow because that’s certainly what the president prefers.”

Asked if that meant the president’s position is that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei must be removed, Vance reiterated that the administration is “hopeful that we’re able to come to a good resolution without the military, but if we have to use the military, the president, of course, has that right as well.”

“I think the president ultimately will make the decision about how to ensure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, but we’re sitting down having another round of diplomatic talks with the Iranians, trying to reach a reasonable settlement, but a reasonable settlement towards what end?” Vance asked. “Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple. I think the supreme leader and everybody in their system should understand it. We’ve been crystal clear.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), meanwhile, warned on Wednesday that he would not support a Trump administration-brokered deal with Iran that would allow the regime to continue enriching some uranium as part of its nuclear program.

“If media reports are true that there is a consideration of allowing Iran to have very small enrichment of uranium for face-saving purposes: screw that,” Graham wrote on X. “This regime is made up of religious Nazis that are the largest state sponsor of terrorism. The regime has American blood on its hands and they have killed over 30,000 of their citizens simply because they demand the end to their oppression.”

Graham added that he “could care less about efforts to save face for this regime. I would like to see the people of Iran change the regime – it’s long overdue. I hope help is on the way.”

Vice President JD Vance, asked about the rise of antisemitism in the conservative movement, said “all forms of ethnic hatred” must be rejected and emphasized that the U.S. is rooted in “Christian principles.”

In an interview released Tuesday, CNN commentator Scott Jennings, on his eponymous podcast, asked the vice president about “certain kinds of views that have been espoused by certain kinds of people” in the conservative movement who “try to drag you into this conversation all the time.”

“Just for the record, does the conservative movement need to warehouse anybody out there espousing antisemitism in any way?” Jennings asked.

“No it doesn’t, Scott,” Vance answered. “I think that we need to reject all forms of ethnic hatred, whether it’s antisemitism, anti-Black hatred, anti-white hatred. I think that’s one of the great things about the conservative coalition, is that we are, I think, fundamentally rooted in the Christian principles that founded the United States of America and one of those very important principles is that we judge people as individuals.”

The vice president continued, “Every person is made in the image of God. You judge them by what they do, not by what ethnic group they belong to and I think that principle is important. It’s something we gotta hold onto in the conservative movement because, God knows, the left abandoned it a long time ago.”

In a series of social media posts, Vice President JD Vance linked data finding increased antisemitism among young people on both sides of the aisle to immigration, and said that there is a difference between “not liking Israel” and being antisemitic.

Responding to excerpts from an Atlantic story highlighting the increase in antisemitic attitudes among young people, Vance said, “Mainstream journalism is just profoundly uninteresting and lame, consumed by its own pieties.”

“To write an article about the ‘generational divide’ in anti-semitism without discussing the demographics of the various generations is mind boggling,” Vance continued.

He blamed the increase in antisemitism on immigration and the demographic makeup of younger Americans.

“‘We imported a lot of people with ethnic grievances prior generations didn’t have. We celebrated this as the fruits of multiculturalism. Now we’re super surprised that the people we imported with ethnic grievances still have those ethnic grievances,’” Vance wrote, arguing that “the most significant single thing you could do to eliminate anti-semitism and any other kind of ethnic hatred is to support our efforts to lower immigration and promote assimilation.”

He concluded, “these guys won’t do that, because they all lack curiosity and introspection,” Vance continued.

He also linked to an analysis cited by Manhattan Institute fellow Charles Fain Lehman supporting those conclusions, indicating that foreign origin is more closely correlated to antisemitism than age or ideology.

Responding to a reply from a right-wing influencer who stated that “White conservative zoomers don’t really like Israel anymore either, JD,” Vance said, “I would say there’s a difference between not liking Israel (or disagreeing with a given Israeli policy) and anti-semitism.”

The comments are some of Vance’s first and most notable following the divisions on the right over rising antisemitism in the conservative movement. Vance, who many see as a leader among younger and “New Right” elements of the GOP, had largely avoided engaging in the debate until now.

Vice President JD Vance dismissed the suggestion that traditional conservative Republicans would “wrest control” of the GOP from supporters of the MAGA movement after President Donald Trump leaves office and “go back to the Republican Party of 20 years ago.”

Vance made the comments during a conversation with Breitbart News’ Washington bureau chief Matt Boyle on Thursday, in which the two broadly discussed the divisions within the MAGA movement on foreign and economic policy. Both argued that the U.S. was experiencing a “political realignment,” with the Republican Party becoming the party of the working class and Democrats now more aligned with wealthier voters. 

“Part of what you see as division in the Republican Party is a consequence of this realignment. We have a new governing coalition. We have a new political coalition. We have people who didn’t used to vote Republican,” Vance said. “Frankly, they have different preferences, sometimes on certain issues, than maybe the Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush Republican Party did. I think the Donald Trump party is a fundamentally new phenomenon in American politics.”

“Some of those divisions you talk about are just the natural outgrowth of the fact that we’ve got a lot of working-class voters who, frankly, don’t care what was Republican orthodoxy 25 years ago, and so they’re pushing the party in a different direction,” the vice president continued. 

Boyle pointed out Vance’s mention of former President George W. Bush, and noted that the funeral of former Vice President Dick Cheney, who served under Bush, was taking place that morning. 

The vice president replied by offering his condolences to the Cheney family and praised his service to the country, but predicted that such an effort to return the Republican Party to the Bush-Cheney era would fail.

“Whether intentional or not, that was the legacy of the Republican Party that came before Donald J. Trump. I’m glad the president got us away from that Republican Party. It lost. It was also a disaster for the United States of America,” Vance said. 

Asked for his thoughts on “how to reunify” the conservative movement amid “some divisions” on domestic and foreign policy matters, Vance said he welcomed the ongoing debates while urging Republicans to not lose sight of the fact that their true opponent is the Democratic Party. 

“I think these debates should happen. They should happen on podcasts. They should happen in the media. They should happen on the op-ed pages. It’s totally reasonable for the people who make up this coalition to argue about what our foreign policy should be, what our specific tax policy should be, what our housing policy should be,” Vance explained, adding that the “disagreements that animated” the GOP were “important.”

Still, Vance encouraged conservatives “to remember that we have a lot more in common than we do not in common.” 

“My attitude is: Let these debates play out, but don’t let the debates that we’re having internally blind us to the fact that we are up against a radical leftist movement that murdered my friend [Charlie Kirk] a couple of months ago, and that would throw many people in the Trump administration in prison, not for doing anything illegal, but for not following the far-left’s agenda,” Vance said.

“That is the real opponent here: a political movement in this country that has no enemy in principle, that has no agenda for the American people. Their sole obsession is to take down Donald Trump and anybody who’d help Donald Trump govern,” he added. “Focus on the enemy. Have our debates, but focus on the enemy so that we can win in victories that matter to the American people.”

During a talk at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi last month, Vice President JD Vance listened carefully as a student took the microphone and asked him a question grounded in antisemitic tropes. Vance took the question at face value, declining to push back. 

“I’m a Christian man, and I’m just confused why there’s this notion that we might have owed Israel something, or that they’re our greatest ally,” the questioner began. “I’m just confused why this idea has come around, considering the fact that not only does their religion not agree with ours, but also openly supports the prosecution [sic] of ours.” 

The exchange came soon after right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson hosted neo-Nazi provocateur Nick Fuentes for a decidedly friendly interview, a shocking but not altogether surprising cultural moment that catapulted an intra-party rift into the open: a shift among a small but growing contingent of young conservatives away from Israel and, increasingly, into a conspiratorial worldview that holds the Jewish state — and Jews — responsible for the world’s ills. 

The question facing party leaders is just how deeply this perspective has rooted itself among the right and how to deal with it: whether to fight it, accept it or stay quiet and hope it disappears. 

Vance’s response at the Turning Point event sparked concern among Jewish conservatives about how a potential future GOP presidential nominee plans to deal with a growing segment of the political right that is not just critical of Israel but of Jews — and why he has been willing to make excuses for the bigotry of some of his supporters. Last month, Vance called criticism of scores of racist and antisemitic messages in Young Republicans group chat “pearl clutching.” And earlier this month, after many conservatives spoke out against Carlson’s interview with Fuentes, Vance decried what he deemed “infighting” calling it “stupid.” 

Until Sunday, President Donald Trump had avoided the maelstrom of the last several weeks, which saw the venerable Heritage Foundation devolve into chaos after its president, Kevin Roberts, defended Carlson following the Fuentes interview. But Trump entered the fray for the first time on Sunday when he was asked by a reporter what role Carlson should play in the conservative movement after hosting “antisemite Nick Fuentes” — and responded with praise for Carlson. 

“I found him to be good. I mean, he said good things about me over the years. I think he’s good,” Trump said. “You can’t tell him who to interview. I mean, if he wants to interview Nick Fuentes, I don’t know much about him, but if he wants to do it, get the word out. People have to decide.” Trump dined with Fuentes and Kanye West, also an avowed antisemite, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in 2022, though Trump has insisted that he didn’t invite Fuentes, but rather that Fuentes tagged along with West.

Pro-Israel Republicans have generally been willing to dismiss Trump’s connection to Carlson — Trump appeared on Carlson’s podcast during the campaign last year soon after the former Fox News host platformed a well-known Holocaust denier — because of what they describe as Trump’s pro-Israel bona fides. 

“It’s a ridiculous conversation to be having, because nobody should doubt where the president stands on this,” Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks told Jewish Insider on Monday. “Donald Trump has zero tolerance when it comes to antisemitism.” Brooks, who is highly critical of Carlson, categorized Trump’s comments as “an omission in his remarks on an airport tarmac.”

Earlier this month, at the RJC conference in Las Vegas, Republican fundraiser Eric Levine told JI that he has concerns about Vance, though he added that those concerns are balanced out by the fact that Trump remains “the most pro-Israel president in the history of the country.” 

“I was disappointed in JD Vance’s response, particularly as part of the Trump administration, which is so pro-Israel, so pro-Jewish,” Levine said. “This notion of this outsized influence that Jews have is disturbing, and I would have thought that the vice president could have done a better job, could have been clearer on that point.” 

Yet Vance’s rhetoric, coupled with his ties to the more isolationist wing of the Republican Party, has frustrated even some of his Jewish backers, who want to see him do more to disavow the fringe, conspiracist right. 

“This [anti-Israel] sensibility has been gaining ground on the right for several years now, and I count myself as one of those who has been warning about it and is worried. But the antisemitic part of it is relatively new,” Peter Berkowitz, who served as a senior State Department official in Trump’s first term, told JI. “It’s high time for those great adepts of social media, President Trump and Vice President Vance, to take to social media and weigh in.”

“I admire and support JD Vance, but his response to that question was disappointing,” said David Brog, a conservative activist who leads the Maccabee Task Force, an organization focused on fighting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. “He knows better. He is the vice president of the United States now. He doesn’t need to please the confused young groypers” — a term used by Fuentes’ acolytes to describe themselves. “He needs to step up, lead and teach them the right path forward.” 

Andrew Day, an editor at The American Conservative, a magazine identified with more isolationist strains of the right, called Vance “the clear favorite of a growing faction on the right that favors realism and restraint in foreign policy, a faction generally hostile toward Israel,” while noting that his “pro-restraint views have long accommodated sympathy for the Jewish state,” so he won’t entirely alienate pro-Israel Republicans. Vance has written for the magazine, and Carlson sits on its advisory board.   

“This [anti-Israel] sensibility has been gaining ground on the right for several years now, and I count myself as one of those who has been warning about it and is worried. But the antisemitic part of it is relatively new,” Peter Berkowitz, who served as a senior State Department official in Trump’s first term, told JI. “It’s high time for those great adepts of social media, President Trump and Vice President Vance, to take to social media and weigh in.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and a spokesperson for Vance declined to comment for this article.  

Vance’s sympathy toward a more transgressive younger generation of conservatives is an outgrowth of that contingent’s expansion in the party. How widely that worldview has percolated is not fully known: conservative writer Rod Dreher recently estimated that 30 to 40% of young Republican staffers in Washington “are fans of Nick Fuentes,” while journalist Emily Jashinsky wrote at the conservative website UnHerd that the “number is high, but not nearly as high as 30-40%.”  

What is not disputed is that among Gen Z conservatives, old dogmas, like support for Israel, are no longer accepted at face value. In the weeks after TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk’s murder, several well-known figures on the right, particularly in the podcasting sphere where Carlson operates, have attempted to recast Kirk as critical of Israel. In a letter sent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this year, Kirk was clear about the trend lines: “Israel is losing support even in conservative circles. This should be a 5 alarm fire,” he wrote. 

But Jewish Republicans see an issue bigger than just a shift away from Israel among some Republicans who are skeptical of American involvement overseas, particularly in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq two decades ago. They also see an antisemitism problem, in addition to an apathy problem — or, perhaps more accurately, a fear factor — among leaders who are wary of taking on an increasingly radicalized young generation.

“It wouldn’t be accurate to say the right is inherently antisemitic, or that being anti-Israel is endemic on the right,” said Tamara Berens, a conservative writer in Washington who wrote an article in early 2023 outlining the growth of antisemitism on America’s far right. “I think what’s endemic is the platforming and the excusing of antisemitic figures.” 

“You’re going to get debates about where America’s long-term interests truly lie and where they don’t, and that’s where I think you get a very hot debate,” said Rusty Reno, editor of First Things, a prominent Christian magazine. “Certainly because of the Gaza war, it became a very heated debate about whether or not the U.S. has an interest in a strong alliance with Israel.” 

A June Quinnipiac poll found that 64% of Republicans sympathized more with Israelis than Palestinians — a far higher number than Democrats, but a decrease from November 2023, when 80% of Republicans were more sympathetic to Israel. And that drop in support has come alongside “flirt[ing] with antisemitism,” said Maccabee Task Force’s Brog. 

“It’s a new era, certainly when it comes to the conversation about where the guardrails are, if there are any remaining on the broader right,” said Josh Hammer, a conservative activist and lawyer. “There are a lot of young folks on the right who have been infected with varying degrees of this mind virus.”

As the editor of First Things, a prominent Christian magazine, Rusty Reno is aware of the anti-establishment sentiment growing among young conservatives. He attributes much of that to an emerging “consensus that we need to revise and fundamentally rethink our global commitments,” Reno told JI. 

“You’re going to get debates about where America’s long-term interests truly lie and where they don’t, and that’s where I think you get a very hot debate,” Reno explained. “Certainly because of the Gaza war, it became a very heated debate about whether or not the U.S. has an interest in a strong alliance with Israel.” 

Reno said he believes some of the concern about rising antisemitism has brought about a “hysterical response,” although he acknowledged that it is not “just this internet nonsense.” 

“It does exist, and I’ve heard people say things that shocked me in some circles on the right,” Reno said. “It’s difficult for me to interpret in young people the extent to which they say things performatively, to demonstrate to each other their bona fides as not captive to the baby boomer mentality, and how much of it is real, or something I should worry about.”

Even staunch backers of Trump’s agenda now acknowledge that they can no longer ignore the fact that something has begun to shift among some hardcore conservatives.

“I don’t think Republicans should make the same mistake that Democrats made and allow themselves to be eaten by a radical fringe, which inevitably means you start losing elections,” said the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Rich Goldberg, who until recently served as a senior advisor at the Department of Interior.  

“I do not think that is reflective of the party as a whole, by any stretch of the imagination. I think that it is, with respect to the adults in the room, still fringe,” Sandra Hagee Parker, the chair of Christians United for Israel Action Fund, told JI. “But I think that the issue is that we have to be aware of what’s happening in this young generation and be prepared to respond to that.”

The party now finds itself at a crossroads as Republican leaders consider how to deal with a small but vocal antisemitic fringe. 

“I don’t think Republicans should make the same mistake that Democrats made and allow themselves to be eaten by a radical fringe, which inevitably means you start losing elections,” said the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Rich Goldberg, who until recently served as a senior advisor at the Department of Interior.  

It is certainly not a foregone conclusion that the party will fully cede to that perspective. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has spoken out sharply against Carlson recently, including in a recent speech calling on his Republican colleagues to criticize the popular podcaster. By going after Carlson, Cruz may be positioning himself for a 2028 presidential run, Axios reported this week. 

Trump is in his second term, and the Republican Party — which has been shaped almost exclusively by Trump for the last decade — will eventually have a new figurehead. Whether that is Vance or someone else remains to be seen, with two years before presidential primary season begins. But the fight that is playing out now is not one that Trump will be able to contain forever. 

“What these guys are fighting for is not MAGA. It’s fighting for the next thing,” said David Reaboi, who operates a national security communications firm. “They don’t care if he’s MAGA or not. They’re very happy to hand over MAGA at this point.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Israel on Thursday, becoming the latest senior official dispatched to the country by President Donald Trump as the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas extends into its second week. 

Rubio joins several other administration officials and representatives who have made the journey to Israel this past week, on the heels of the signing of the first phase of Trump’s peace proposal, including Vice President JD Vance, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and advisor Jared Kushner.

The swift mobilization of U.S. officials comes as the Trump administration aims to lay the groundwork for the second phase of the deal and works to keep Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from reigniting fighting in the Gaza Strip and fracturing a delicate peace deal, amid Hamas’ repeated violations of the agreement. 

Vance, in his meeting with Netanyahu on Wednesday, emphasized that Israel is not a “vassal state” that needs to be told what to do. 

The string of high-level visits is “not about monitoring in the sense of, you know, monitoring a toddler,” Vance told reporters alongside Netanyahu. “It’s about monitoring in the sense that there’s a lot of work.”

Meanwhile, ahead of his own visit to Israel, Rubio warned Israeli leaders that the West Bank annexation vote that passed the Knesset this week — championed by far-right MK Avi Moaz — threatened to derail the Trump-orchestrated ceasefire deal.

Chuck Freilich, an associate professor of political science at Columbia University, told Jewish Insider he sees it as a form of U.S. oversight, or “Bibi-sitting,” something he says is “long-standing tradition” in the U.S.-Israel relationship.

“From the U.S. perspective, you want to go over and reassure Israel its legitimate security concerns are not in jeopardy by continuing to adhere to the ceasefire,” said Jonathan Ruhe, a fellow for American strategy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “I imagine that Rubio will be there to more echo and amplify the messages that have already been laid out, assuming the facts on the ground don’t change between now and then.”

While disagreements between the U.S. and Israel are not unusual, the Biden administration’s efforts to oppose Netanyahu’s preferred policies often led to accusations of insufficient U.S. support for the Jewish state.  

During the Biden administration, senior officials, including Secretary of State Tony Blinken, were dispatched to the region to keep Israel from conducting military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. At the time, Biden faced criticism from some in the pro-Israel world for restraining Netanyahu’s government from doing what they saw to be in Israel’s best interest during the war. 

Given Trump’s high popularity in Israel in the immediate aftermath of the hostage-release deal, that blowback is not happening this time around. Freilich says the Trump administration’s exertion of restraint on Netanyahu from going after Hamas to uphold the ceasefire is different. 

“Unlike with Biden, I don’t think there is a war to be won now that the U.S. is blocking,” said Freilich. “Israel has already done most of what it can do. The real problem is with phase two, how to dismantle and disarm Hamas and remove it as the governing body in Gaza. The administration is working on it intensively, including in all of these visits.”

The continued engagement is also a way for the Trump administration to provide Netanyahu cover from the right-wing coalition of his government, which had been more reluctant to end the fighting and make a hostage deal before the complete elimination of Hamas. The Trump administration may see holding them at bay as another way to keep the ceasefire intact.

David May, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Rubio will be a worthy asset alongside Witkoff and Kushner, stating that his presence could help Israel get Hamas to “uphold a ceasefire that would effectively dismantle the terrorist group.” 

“Dispatching Secretary of State Marco Rubio is a very positive development,” May told JI. “Rubio possesses immense knowledge of the issues and the actors with his decades of experience operating in U.S. foreign policy.”

This will be Rubio’s fourth visit to Israel since taking office in January. The secretary of state has a plethora of diplomatic experience with the Jewish state and has long expressed steadfast support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, dating back to his time in the U.S. Senate. 

Visiting the new U.S.-run Civilian Military Cooperation Center in southern Israel, Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday that he is “very optimistic” about the advancement of the peace plan, but warned that Hamas must disarm and cooperate with international interlocutors, or else it would be “obliterated.” 

The vice president’s comments came shortly after President Donald Trump, in a post on his Truth Social site, threatened Hamas with “elimination” should the terror group continue to carry out violence in Gaza and violate the terms of the peace deal. 

“Numerous of our NOW GREAT ALLIES in the Middle East … have explicitly and strongly, with great enthusiasm, informed me that they would welcome the opportunity, at my request, to go into GAZA with a heavy force and ‘straighten out Hamas’ if Hamas continues to act badly, in violation of their agreement with us,” Trump wrote. “There is still hope that Hamas will do what is right. If they do not, an end to Hamas will be FAST, FURIOUS, & BRUTAL!”

The president’s statement, which came hours after Vance touched down in Israel in part to keep the deal on track, underscored his growing impatience and frustration with the terrorist group.

“Hamas has to disarm,” Vance said. “They’re not going to be able to kill their fellow Palestinians. … If Hamas doesn’t cooperate, as the president of the United States said, Hamas will be obliterated.”

“But I’m not going to do what the president of the United States has thus far refused to do, which is put an explicit deadline on it,” the vice president continued, “because a lot of this stuff is difficult … In order for us to give it a chance to succeed, we’ve got to be a little bit flexible.”

Asked about Turkish troops entering Gaza despite the country’s hostility to Israel, Vance said that Israel will have to agree to any foreign troops on the ground. “We’re not going to force anything on our Israeli friends when it comes to foreign troops on their soil, but I think there’s a constructive role for the Turks to play,” he said. “They already played a constructive role.”

As for reconstruction of Gaza, Jared Kushner, who has played a central role in negotiating the end of the war, said that “no reconstruction funds will be going to areas Hamas still controls. … There are considerations in the area the IDF controls to start reconstruction of a new Gaza, in order to give the Palestinians in Gaza a place to go, a place to get jobs, a place to live.” 

Vance said that the eventual governing structure of Gaza is still undetermined, as the plan focuses on getting “to a point where both Gazans and our Israeli friends have some measure of security.” After that, he added, “we’ll worry about long term governance.”

“Let’s worry about security, give people food and medicine,” he said.

Vance said that the CMCC’s focus is on repatriating the bodies of the 15 remaining Israeli hostages, but that “it’s not going to happen overnight.” 

The administration’s push for Hamas’ disarmament is expected to face hurdles. “On the one hand, Hamas wants to avoid losing the sympathy of Turkey and Qatar and wants to avoid wasting Egypt’s desire for a political settlement that creates Palestinian unity with Hamas support,” said Rob Satloff, executive director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “On the other hand, it is clear that Hamas has no intention of voluntarily giving up the battle against Israel, let alone voluntarily disarming.”

But while Trump threatened that “many countries” will get involved, other nations have been reluctant to send in reinforcements, despite talks of forming an International Stabilization Force, as laid out in the unfinalized second phase of the peace deal. 

At the CMCC facility on Tuesday, the vice president noted that the force is still in the process of being formed, but said no American troops will be on the ground in the enclave. There are about 200 U.S. servicemembers at the CMCC in Kiryat Gat, Israel, tasked with coordinating the effort.

Trump himself emphasized that the U.S. will not send troops into Gaza, telling reporters at the White House on Monday that “Israel would go in in two minutes if I asked them to go in … But right now we haven’t said that.”

“Many countries are hesitant to send troops to serve as peacekeepers,” said David May, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “So, it will be very difficult to find a country able and willing to strike Hamas as punishment.”

Even if Trump is able to get other countries on board to take a more involved role in defanging Hamas in Gaza, May said more firepower does not always mean better results. 

“There’s a certain value in threats and provocative language, especially from an unpredictable president,” said May. “But striking Hamas and not killing civilians requires surgical precision — something the Israelis excel in — not the overwhelming force that the United States alone possesses. [At the same time,] Hamas’ violations are mounting, and the terrorist group cannot be allowed to retake Gaza and execute its potential replacements.”

May said a return to fighting would sink any possibility of the current deal developing into full-fledged peace. The Trump administration has sought to avoid a return to hostilities and build on the momentum from phase one. Experts warned the administration is in a precarious position, balancing between keeping the president’s deal stable and preventing Hamas from reasserting power. 

“The Trump administration is trying to navigate between these poles,” said Satloff. “Taking advantage of political pressure while avoiding a showdown with Hamas without the Arab, Muslim or international troops to back it up, all the while trying to avoid a collapse of relapse into full-scale Hamas-Israel war that would undermine the president’s great diplomatic achievement.”

The vice president also spoke of the significance of Israel to him as a Christian, sharing plans to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. “I pray that the Prince of Peace,” he said, using a name for Jesus,” can continue to work a miracle in this part of the world.”

Vice President JD Vance landed in Israel on Tuesday with the charge to lead efforts to stabilize the fragile ceasefire in Gaza and assist in the implementation of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s peace deal.

Following the release of the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, there was little indication that Hamas would abide by the other elements of Trump’s 20-point plan, which calls on the terrorist group to disarm and cede governance to a technocratic group of Palestinian leaders. In the last week, Hamas began executing Palestinians, clashing with rival groups and reasserting itself as the security and governing force in the Gaza Strip.

Over the weekend, Hamas terrorists shot an anti-tank missile at IDF machinery and killed two soldiers and Israel retaliated with airstrikes in Rafah, further jeopardizing the status of the ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu briefly halted the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, but reversed course following pressure from the Trump administration.

The vice president will now step into the conflict, visiting Israel at an important juncture as the Trump administration looks to avoid another breakdown into renewed hostilities and ensure full compliance with the deal.

“Hamas is going to fire on Israel. Israel’s going to have to respond, of course. There are going to be moments where you have people within Gaza that you’re [not] quite sure what they’re actually doing. But we think it has the best chance for sustainable peace,” Vance told reporters on Sunday, referring to the peace proposal.

The decision to dispatch Vance to Israel is a sign of the Trump administration’s continued engagement in the Middle East after securing the hostage-release deal, according to experts.

“We are in a moment of really intense American engagement and influence that have got us to a stage one that no analyst a month ago would have told you was possible, and so there is a moment of opportunity here,” said John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “In order to be sustained, it’s a ceasefire and peace process that is going to require intense and continuous U.S. engagement at the most senior levels.” 

While Vance’s foreign policy experience was limited during his time in the Senate, the vice president has remained deeply engaged on issues regarding Israel during the second Trump administration. Hannah said this continued high level involvement will be key to sustaining any peace deal.

David May, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said deploying Vance shows the significance of this issue to the Trump administration.

“This is a huge legacy item for President Trump, and so trying to make sure that the ceasefire holds is a highly important item for him. They had to send someone of a high profile, and sending the vice president shows that you are serious,” said May.

May said it would be a “huge accomplishment” if Vance is able to keep the ceasefire from collapsing — and secure progress toward other elements of Trump’s peace plan. 

“This is now an opportunity for Vance to build on his portfolio and show his vice presidential experience,” said May. “There’s very often vice presidents that sit in the background and don’t do much and don’t have much to show for it. This is an opportunity for him to get in the foreground.”

The key, May says, will be for Vance to leverage the U.S. relationship with Israel and convince Netanyahu’s government to show restraint in responding to Hamas’ provocations.

“In order for the ceasefire not to collapse, the exchanges of fire have to stop. It’s very difficult to get Hamas to stop firing, but if you can get the Israelis to stop responding, or at least to respond less forcefully, then maybe that can lower the temperature a little bit and allow for some of the benefits of the ceasefire to start kicking in,” said May. 

But beyond keeping the pause in hostilities afloat, the administration still faces a significant challenge in completely disarming Hamas and removing them from Gaza, a hurdle May says could require further confrontation with the terrorist group. 

“I don’t think any power besides maybe the United States or Israel can be trusted and would have the commitment to actually disarming Hamas,” said May. “Unless Hamas is able, or willing, to resume its previous role as being a more religious and cultural and social organization without the same political power or weapons, I don’t foresee a way of implementing the ceasefire without maybe another round of fighting with Israel actually taking out Hamas.”

Vance is slated to stay in Israel until Thursday, according to reports. The vice president will join White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, both of whom played vital roles in securing the first phase of the deal, who are already in Israel and met on Monday with Netanyahu.  

When Fox News anchor Bret Baier scored a primetime interview with Vice President J.D. Vance for Monday evening, he likely hoped that Vance would have news to share with him. Instead, Baier was the one to break the news to Vance that President Donald Trump had brokered a ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran, which Trump announced in a post on Truth Social moments before Vance went on air. 

“That’s good news that the president was able to get that across the finish line,” Vance told Baier, noting that he was aware those conversations were happening as he left the White House to head to the Fox News studio.  

“I knew that he was working the phones as I was on the way over here, so I knew exactly what we were going to do,” Vance said on “Special Report,” after acknowledging that the statement Trump posted on Truth Social was different from a draft that Vance had viewed hours earlier. 

“And look, I love that about this presidency and this administration, because he’s always working. He doesn’t say, you know, ‘The vice president’s going to do an interview, so I’m going to stop doing anything.’ He says, you know, ‘We’re going to do the American people’s business.’” 

Trump said on Monday night that Israel and Iran had agreed to bring what he called the “12 day war” to an end, with the promise that both sides “will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL.” He did not say if there would be any binding promises on either side. 

Before Iran fired missiles at an American military base in Qatar on Monday, Iran telegraphed to the U.S. that it planned to attack in a symbolic measure. That message was delivered through an intermediary, but Vance said the U.S. would welcome direct dialogue with Iran “about how we move this thing forward.” 

Vance has advocated for a more restrained approach to U.S. intervention abroad, including with respect to Iran. But on Fox News, he telegraphed his support for Trump’s actions, which he said “obliterated the Iranian nuclear program.” 

“The president has been very clear, and I’ve always agreed with the president, that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon,” said Vance. “You try to run the diplomatic process as much as you possibly can. When the president decided that wasn’t going to work, he took the action that he had to take. Now we’re in a new phase. That action was successful.”

Vance deflected when asked if he knew where all of Iran’s highly enriched uranium was located, amid reports that the Iranians had removed a large quantity of uranium enriched to 60% from the underground Fordow site ahead of the U.S. strikes on the compound this weekend.

“I think that’s actually not the question before us. The question before us is, Can Iran enrich the uranium to a weapons-grade level, and can they convert that fuel to a nuclear weapon?” Vance responded. “We know that they cannot build a nuclear weapon.”

He reiterated that the U.S. “destroyed” their “ability to enrich uranium,” calling it a “mission success” in Trump’s goal to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Vance warned that the U.S. military stands in the way of Iran following through on its goal of building a nuclear weapon.

“If Iran is desperate to build a nuclear weapon in the future, then they’re going to have to deal with a very, very powerful American military,” said Vance.

Vance said that the U.S. military’s mission is not regime change, and that Trump’s Sunday post expressing support for regime change was a message to the Iranian people to make a choice about it, which is “between the Iranian people and the regime.” 

“What the president is saying very clearly, Bret, is, if the Iranian people want to do something about their own leadership, that’s up to the Iranian people. What the American national security interest is here is very simple: It’s to destroy the nuclear program. That’s what we’ve done, and now that the 12-day war appears to be effectively over, we have an opportunity, I think, to restart a real peace process,” said Vance.

Vice President JD Vance emphasized  that the United States is “not at war with Iran” but instead “at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday.

Vance also denied that the U.S. is seeking regime change in Iran but is instead seeking peace with a non-nuclear Iran. He said it’s up to Israel whether it wants to take its own action to kill Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Our expectation is we’re going to learn a lot about what the Iranians want to do, how they want to proceed over the next 24 hours,” the vice president said. “The president has said he wants, now, to engage in a diplomatic process. But if the Iranians are not going to play ball here, they didn’t leave as many options as it pertains to last night, and they won’t leave as many options in the future.”

He said that if Iran continues its nuclear program, continues to fund international terrorism and attacks U.S. forces, “it will be met with overwhelming force,” but it has the opportunity to rejoin the international community if it changes course.

“What would make sense is for them to come to the negotiating table, to actually give up their nuclear weapons program over the long term,” he reiterated. “And, again, if they’re willing to do that, they’re going to find a willing partner in the United States of America.”

He said the U.S. only took action after it became clear Iran was “stonewalling” in talks and was not serious about negotiations, instead using them as a tactic to build out their nuclear program. “Diplomacy never was given a real chance by the Iranians,” Vance said.

He said that Iran had “stopped negotiating in good faith” and that was “the real catalyst” for the U.S. strikes. Vance said the administration came to the conclusion that talks were stagnant in mid-May.

Vance added that the U.S. had a “limited window” in which to strike Fordow, and that such an operation may not have been feasible in six months.

Asked about the possibility of Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the international oil trade, Vance said that such a decision would be “suicidal” for Iran. The Iranian parliament voted Sunday to close the waterway, but that decision will have to be approved by others in the regime.

“Their entire economy runs through the Strait of Hormuz. If they want to destroy their own economy and cause disruptions in the world, I think that would be their decision,” Vance said. “But why would they do that? I don’t think it makes any sense.”

Vance, who has been aligned with the “restrainer” foreign policy camp within the GOP wary of American military interventions, defended Trump’s actions from those critical that the strikes could lead the U.S. to get enmeshed in a protracted conflict in the Middle East once again. 

”The difference is that back then, we had dumb presidents, and now we have a president who actually knows how to accomplish America’s national security objectives. So this is not going to be some long, drawn-out thing,” Vance said.

He said the U.S. has “no interest in boots on the ground.”

Vance emphasized on ABC News’ “This Week” that allowing Iran to achieve a nuclear weapon would not have generated peace in the Middle East.

“We can achieve peace much more fully than if we sort of sit on our hands and hope that somehow, if the Iranians get a nuclear weapon, they’re going to be more peaceful,” the vice president said. “That is a stupid approach, and the president rejected it.”

Vance asserted on “Meet the Press” that the raid had “substantially delayed” the regime’s ability to build nuclear weapons by “many, many years.”

“I’m not going to get into sensitive intelligence about what we’ve seen on the ground there in Iran, but we’ve seen a lot, and I feel very confident that we’ve substantially delayed their development of a nuclear weapon, and that was the goal of this attack,” Vance said. The vice president’s comments match an initial assessment provided by Pentagon leaders Sunday morning.

Vance added on “This Week” that the U.S. will have to “work in the coming weeks to ensure” that Iran’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium are addressed.

“One of the things that we’re going to have conversations with the Iranians about. But what we know is they no longer have the capacity to turn that stockpile of highly enriched uranium to weapons grade uranium, and that was really the goal here,” Vance said, emphasizing that Iran’s enrichment capacity was the primary U.S. target.

“We’re now going to have a serious conversation about how to get rid of Iran’s nuclear weapons program permanently, meaning they have to choose not to have a nuclear weapons program, and they have to give this thing up,” Vance continued.

With congressional Democrats, and a small group of Republicans, denouncing the strikes as lacking the proper congressional authorization, Vance argued on “Meet the Press” that the president has the authority to “act to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”

“The idea that this was outside of presidential authority, I think any real serious legal person would tell you that’s not true,” Vance said.

Asked about previous U.S. intelligence assessments that Iran was not actively building a nuclear weapon, Vance said, “There’s of course an open question about whether they were weeks away, whether they were months away. But they were way too close to a nuclear weapon for the comfort of the president of the United States, which is why he took this action.”

He said that the final decision had been made based on American, not Israeli, intelligence, and that U.S. intelligence concluded Iran was not interested in serious negotiations.

Vice President JD Vance defended Israel against an accusation of genocide from podcaster Theo Von on Saturday, but said “this whole debate” around the Israel-Hamas war “has caused us to lose our humanity.”

Speaking on the comedian’s podcast, Vance called the images coming out of Gaza “very heartbreaking” and said the administration is trying to “solve two problems here.” The first, he said, is that “you’ve got innocent people, innocent Palestinians and innocent Israeli hostages, by the way, who are like caught up in this terrible violence that’s happening as we speak. OK? And we’re trying to get as much aid and as much support into people as humanly possible.”

The second, Vance said, is that “Israel’s attacked by this terrible terrorist organization … So I think what we’re trying to do in the Trump administration with that situation is to get to a peaceful resolution.” 

He laid out his vision of that resolution: “You’ve got to give Israel confidence that Hamas is never going to attack them and kill a bunch of civilians. And then you’ve got to get as much aid and support into these innocent Palestinians as possible, because in some ways, they’re caught in the middle of this thing too.”

Vance opined that “one thing that I don’t love about the whole Israel-Palestinian debate is, I think it kind of degrades our humanity a little bit. Because I’ve seen people on the left, mostly on the left, who will … completely ignore that all these innocent Israelis were killed in this terrorist attack. And you have some people, usually on the right, who will completely ignore that there are, like, kids who are caught up in this violence.” He continued, “And I think it’s why the president has been — you know, I call him the president of peace — it’s why he cares about solving this problem. Because the longer this goes on, the more suffering, the more death. So we’re trying to solve it as much as we can.”

Vance described Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff as “a Jewish guy, very pro-Israel. He’s done more to try to bring this conflict to a close than anybody. And you sometimes have people who say that they’re pro-Israel who attack Steve for not being pro-Israel enough. And I think it’s totally bogus. I see this guy operate every single day. … He’s a Jewish guy who believes in the purpose of the State of Israel. He also is a guy with a heart who’s trying to prevent the killing. … When I talk about, ‘this whole debate has caused us to lose our humanity,’ I think of the people who are constantly going after Steve.”

Von characterized the conflict as a genocide, saying, “We’re seeing all these videos of people, like, picking up pieces of their children and  it’s the sickest thing I think that’s ever been televised. … It feels like a massacre, and it feels like, you know, I’ve called it a genocide.” Von said the U.S. is “complicit” in the conflict “because we help fund military stuff, you know, and that’s where it’s, like, as a regular guy, you’re like, ‘Well, I’m paying these taxes, and they’re going towards this.’”

“Do I think it’s a genocide? No,” Vance replied. “Because I don’t think that the Israelis are purposely trying to go in and murder every Palestinian. I don’t think that’s what they’re doing. I think they got hit hard. And I think they’re trying to sort of destroy this terrorist organization. And war is hell, and that is true.”

But Vance criticized some on the right for a lack of empathy for Palestinians: “I mean, I’ve seen people on my side of the political aisle … who will see these videos of these innocent Palestinian kids and say, ‘Oh, well, they had it coming to them.’ No, no. If you have a soul, your heart should break when you see a little kid who’s suffering, which is why we have the policy that we have, which is we’re trying to stop, eliminate the conflict, eliminate the source of the conflict, so that we can actually bring some peace and some some humanitarian assistance in to people.”

Vice President JD Vance visited the Israeli Embassy in Washington on Tuesday to pay his respects following last Wednesday’s killing of two staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in the nation’s capital. 

Vance was seen in photos posted on X by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter signing a condolence book at the embassy honoring the memories of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, the two staffers killed in the May 21 attack following a museum event for young diplomats and Jewish professionals hosted by the American Jewish Committee.

“Thank you @VP Vance for coming to the Embassy to honor our dear colleagues and friends, Sarah and Yaron. The care and compassion you and the Trump administration have shown in the wake of this murderous attack are testaments to the enduring friendship between our two countries and peoples, and our mutual battle against terrorism,” Leiter wrote on the social media platform. 

Leiter said at a press conference immediately following the shooting that Lischinsky and Milgrim met while working at the embassy and that Lischinsky planned to propose on an upcoming trip to Jerusalem. 

The alleged shooter, Elias Rodriguez, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, the murder of foreign officials, causing death with a firearm and discharging a firearm in a violent crime. The interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, said last week that the 31-year-old Chicago native, who was seen on video shouting “free Palestine” and “I did it for Gaza” after the attack, is eligible for the death penalty. 

A Vance spokesperson did not respond to Jewish Insider’s request for comment on the visit, though the vice president wrote on X the morning after the shooting that, “My heart breaks for Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, who were murdered last night at the Capital Jewish Museum.”

“Antisemitic violence has no place in the United States. We’re praying for their families and all of our friends at the Israeli Embassy, where the two victims worked,” Vance said at the time.

In his second consecutive day of hearings on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he expects that additional Arab countries will join the Abraham Accords by the end of the year, if not earlier.

“We do have an Abraham Accords office that is actively working to identify a number of countries who have lined up and already I think we may have good news, certainly before the end of this year, of a number of more countries that are willing to join that alliance,” Rubio said a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday.

The comments are consistent with other recent remarks by President Donald Trump and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

Rubio added that the administration is currently working on selecting an ambassador for the Abraham Accords, as required under law, to submit for congressional confirmation.

He said that there is “still a willingness” in Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel, but “certain conditions are impediments,” including the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and the ensuing war.

Rubio’s testimony largely reinforced and added on his comments the day before, on issues including Iran and Syria.

He again insisted that all elements of the Trump administration, including Vice President JD Vance and Witkoff, are unified behind the position that Iran cannot be allowed to maintain its capacity to enrich uranium.

And he affirmed that U.S. law requires that any deal with Iran be submitted to Congress for review and approval, noting that he had been in Congress when that law was passed.

At an afternoon hearing with the House Appropriations Committee, Rubio again said that sanctions relating to Iranian proxy terrorism or other malign activities will not be impacted by a nuclear deal that does not address those subjects. Republicans in the past have questioned the distinction between nuclear and non-nuclear sanctions, particularly as part of the original 2015 nuclear deal, which took a similar approach. And they’ve argued that any sanctions relief would allow Iran to expand its support for regional terrorism.

Rubio said the administration is continuing to ramp up sanctions on Iran, and said that European parties to the deal are “on the verge” of implementing snapback sanctions on Iran. He said that the administration would support legislation to implement additional sanctions on Iran’s oil sector.

He denied knowledge of a Tuesday leak by administration officials that Israel was making plans to strike Iran’s nuclear program, adding, “I also don’t think it’s a mystery, though … that Israel has made clear that they retain the option of action to limit Iran from ever gaining a nuclear capability.”

Expanding on comments he made the day before, Rubio said that he favors moving the mission of U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian territories under the authority of the U.S. ambassador to Israel so that it can be a better-integrated part of the U.S.’ Israel policy. But he vowed that the core function of the office will continue.

Rubio denied reports of talks between the United States and Saudi Arabia about potential nuclear cooperation outside of a “gold standard” deal, which would include banning domestic enrichment.

The secretary of state reiterated comments about the critical necessity of providing sanctions relief to Syria to help contribute to stability, but he said that continued sanctions relief “does have to be conditioned on them continuing to live by the commitments” that the Syrian government has made verbally, including to combat extremism, prevent Syria from becoming a launchpad for attacks on Israel and form a government that represents, includes and protects ethnic and religious diversity.

He indicated that the U.S. is not actively working to shut down the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, but pledged that the United States will not be providing any further aid to or through that organization and will use its power and funding to look for alternatives.

He said it will be up to other countries whether they continue working with UNRWA, though he noted that the U.S. has been the agency’s largest donor.

Rubio said that he would be supportive, in concept, of legislation to expand current U.S. anti-boycott laws to include compulsory boycotts imposed by international organizations. That legislation was pulled from a House floor vote after right-wing lawmakers falsely claimed it would ban U.S. citizens from boycotting Israel.

Pushing back on calls for the U.S. to withhold weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates over its support for one of the parties involved in the Sudanese Civil War that the U.S. has found is committing genocide, Rubio said that the U.S. is not fully in alignment with the UAE but argued that it’s critical for the U.S. to continue engaging with and maintain a strong relationship with the UAE for its broader foreign policy goals in the Middle East.

He said that maintaining such a relationship and expanding the U.S.’ diplomatic and economic relationship with Abraham Accords countries is also important to ensuring that the Accords continue to be successful.

Rubio said that the State Department had approved restarting aid programs for Jordan that remained frozen — though he noted most were initially exempted from the administration’s blanket freeze. He acknowledged that the frozen programs had been “a source of frustration for [Jordan], and frankly for me.” He continued, “Ultimately, we’re going to get all those programs online, if they’re not online already.”

In a heated back-and-forth with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who was brandishing a pocket Constitution, Rubio again defended the administration’s policy of revoking student visas from individuals accused of involvement in anti-Israel activity on college campuses, saying that they are coming to the United States to “tear this country [apart]” and “stir up problems on our campuses.”

Addressing the case of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University graduate student that supporters have said was detained solely for writing an op-ed in a student newspaper criticizing Israel, Rubio claimed the situation is not as has been represented. “Those are her lawyers’ claims and your claims, those are not the facts,” Rubio said.

Asked by Jayapal about a comment — “Jews are untrustworthy and a dangerous group” — made by an Afrikaner refugee recently admitted to the United States from South Africa, Rubio said that he would “look forward to revoking the visas of any lunatics you can identify.”

But when presented with the fact that the individual in question was admitted as a refugee, not on a visa, Rubio said that refugee admissions are “a totally different process,” adding “student visas are a privilege.”

Vice President J.D. Vance expressed deep reservations about the U.S. conducting strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen earlier this month in a private group chat with other senior administration officials, according to a bombshell report by The Atlantic.

Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, reported on Monday that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz had inadvertently added him to a group chat on Signal, an encrypted messaging application, with Vance and numerous Cabinet-level officials. Goldberg reported that Vance told the group chat, which debated and detailed the Trump administration’s plans to launch the strikes, that he thought they should hold off on the mission.

“Team, I am out for the day doing an economic event in Michigan. But I think we are making a mistake,” Vance reportedly texted the group on the morning of March 14. “3 percent of US trade runs through the suez. 40 percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary. The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message.”

“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now,” Vance continued. “There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back on Vance’s arguments, explaining why he believed it would be a mistake to wait to conduct the strikes. 

“Waiting a few weeks or a month does not fundamentally change the calculus. 2 immediate risks on waiting: 1) this leaks, and we look indecisive; 2) Israel takes an action first – or Gaza cease fire falls apart – and we don’t get to start this on our own terms. We can manage both. We are prepared to execute, and if I had final go or no go vote, I believe we should,” Hegseth wrote to the group. 

“This [is] not about the Houthis. I see it as two things: 1) Restoring Freedom of Navigation, a core national interest; and 2) Reestablish deterrence, which Biden cratered. But, we can easily pause. And if we do, I will do all we can to enforce 100% OPSEC,” Hegseth continued, referring to operational security.

Vance replied directly to Hegseth shortly after, writing: “[I]f you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again.”

The comments underscore that Vance’s views are at odds with the prevailing foreign policy view in the Trump administration, and aligned with an isolationist wing of GOP foreign policy circles that has sought to expand its influence. By suggesting that Europe benefits more than the United States from the U.S. Navy’s protection of the Red Sea shipping lanes, he downplayed the national security threat posed by the Houthis in threatening international waterways.

(After the strikes against the Houthis, the Trump White House issued a statement reiterating the American interest in the region: “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.”)

A user with the initials SM — believed to be Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff for policy at the White House and a close Trump advisor — replied to these messages by suggesting the U.S. expects some recompense from its allies for carrying out the strikes.

“As I heard it, the president was clear: green light, but we soon make clear to Egypt and Europe what we expect in return,” the user wrote. “We also need to figure out how to enforce such a requirement. EG, if Europe doesn’t remunerate, then what? If the U.S. successfully restores freedom of navigation at great cost there needs to be some further economic gain extracted in return.”

A spokesperson for Vance said in a statement to Jewish Insider on Monday, “The Vice President’s first priority is always making sure that the President’s advisers are adequately briefing him on the substance of their internal deliberations. Vice President Vance unequivocally supports this administration’s foreign policy. The President and the Vice President have had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement.”

The statement did not address whether the vice president did believe or still believes that striking the Houthis serves U.S. national security interests. 

A spokesperson for the National Security Council said in a statement, “At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain. The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to our servicemembers or our national security.”

The leaked messages also revealed that senior Pentagon advisor Dan Caldwell and Joe Kent, the nominee to be director of the National Counterterrorism Center — subordinate to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence — had been named as the lead deputies coordinating the operation for the Defense Department and ODNI.

Caldwell, a Koch network alumnus, took a leading role in the Pentagon transition process, helping to bring on a series of isolationist foreign policy hires into the Pentagon. Caldwell himself faced scrutiny for calls for the U.S. to pull back from the Middle East.

Kent, who is reportedly acting in an advisory role at ODNI before his confirmation, has past ties to white supremacists and neo-Nazis and promoted conspiracy theories.

The revelations have prompted immediate backlash from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill.

“Classified information should not be transmitted on unsecured channels — and certainly not to those without security clearances, including reporters. Period,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said.  “Safeguards must be put in place to ensure this never happens again.”

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said that the messages should not have been shared on unclassified systems, adding that U.S. adversaries are likely monitoring Hegseth’s personal phone.

“If true, this story represents one of the most egregious failures of operational security and common sense I have ever seen,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee said.

Leaders of multiple intelligence agencies are set to appear before the Senate and House Intelligence committee on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, where they’re likely to face fierce scrutiny from Democrats over the security breach.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, posted an image mocking Hegseth. Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said he was “horrified” by the reports and that they were illegal and posed “calamitous risks.”

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), the Republican vice-presidential nominee, declined to distance himself from right-wing talk show host Tucker Carlson for hosting a Holocaust distortionist who called Winston Churchill the “chief villain” of World War II, but spoke out against the crackpot guest whom he follows on his X accounts.

Carlson has drawn unusually fierce criticism from several elected Republicans over his decision to host Darryl Cooper, a self-proclaimed podcast historian, on his program. Carlson described Cooper as “the best and most honest popular historian in the United States,” and declined to push back on any of the false claims made during their conversation. 

In the interview, Cooper diminished the Holocaust by claiming that “millions of prisoners of war” had “ended up dead” in concentration camps, suggesting the Nazis did not have genocidal aims against Jews but were simply “unprepared” for the war, among other false assertions. 

A spokesman for the Ohio senator, who will appear with Carlson at an upcoming stop on the conservative commentator’s speaking tour, told Jewish Insider in a statement that, “Senator Vance doesn’t believe in guilt-by-association cancel culture but he obviously does not share the views of the guest interviewed by Tucker Carlson. There are no stronger supporters of our allies in Israel or the Jewish community in America than Senator Vance and President Trump.”

The statement went on: “As Senator Vance and President Trump stand steadfastly in support of our allies in Israel, radical Kamala Harris continues to cater to the antisemitic Hamas wing of her party.”

Carlson and Vance have a close professional relationship. The former Fox News host lobbied former President Donald Trump aggressively to choose Vance as his running mate, and the senator has appeared on his online streaming program numerous times. 

Vance’s appearance on Carlson’s speaking tour, taking place on Sept. 21 in Hershey, Pa., is still moving forward despite the controversy over the Cooper interview. Donald Trump Jr., who also has a close relationship with the political commentator, will separately appear with Carlson for a tour stop in Jacksonville, Fla., one week later after the Vance event. 

The White House on Thursday strongly condemned Carlson for platforming the Holocaust denier. Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement: “Giving a microphone to a Holocaust denier who spreads Nazi propaganda is a disgusting and sadistic insult to all Americans, to the memory of the over 6 million Jews who were genocidally murdered by Adolf Hitler, to the service of the millions of Americans who fought to defeat Nazism, and to every subsequent victim of Antisemitism.”

Several Jewish Republican operatives privately expressed concern that Carlson’s behavior could be damaging to the Trump-Vance ticket, and worried about how the campaign will handle the matter. 

“It’s not cancel culture. The problem they have is: what’s going to happen when somebody raises their hand on the trail and says, ‘Sen. Vance, as a Marine, do you believe that the American boys who died storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day were fighting a force that was just as evil as us? What do you say to World War II veterans? Do you agree with Cooper’s statement?'” one senior GOP staffer, who works for one of the most conservative members of Congress, told JI on condition of anonymity. 

“What happens when somebody stands up at the Tucker event, at the tour and goes, ‘Tucker, I really agree with what you said about the Jews.’ How do you prevent that while J.D. is on stage?” they added, arguing that this could be a broader problem that the campaign has to deal with now that Carlson has made it an issue. 

A second Republican campaign operative, also speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the difficulties involved for conservatives in criticizing someone with a significant MAGA following as Carlson. 

“You can’t go after Tucker without his audience thinking that you’re targeting them and that you’re targeting Trump in some way. That entire audience, it’s millions of our party’s base voters. It’s understandably uncomfortable, certainly for Trump,” they said, noting that the former president’s “son has hitched his wagon to the guy.”