US VP Vance blasts ‘panic’ by Israeli critics over Iran deal, counsels not to attack ‘the only sympathetic’ world leader to Israel

U.S. Vice President JD Vance continued a string of intensely critical comments toward Israel from the U.S. administration, warning critics of the U.S.-Iran deal not to be ungrateful and describing Israeli concerns as “panic” and a “freakout.”

The sharp statements shocked many in Israel. Ynet News cited a senior Israeli official who said, “Vance is basically telling Netanyahu: get your ministers under control, this won’t pass quietly. He embarrassed him.”

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday as part of a media campaign defending the deal, Vance said he was “bothered” by some Israeli cabinet members who criticized it and, allegedly, “very personally” attacking U.S. President Donald Trump.

“My message to them would be twofold. ​Number 1: 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,” he said.

VIDEO: Vice president Vance in a message to to Israeli cabinet members:

“If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have left

2/3 of the defensive weapons that have protected your homeland have been built by… https://t.co/asCV1nwUNr pic.twitter.com/DNA42AdgNp

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 18, 2026

“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.“

Secondly, addressing “some of these cabinet members” but excluding, “to his credit,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Vance noted that “two-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected your homeland have been built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars.”

“The problem for Israel is not Donald J Trump, and anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in,” Vance said.

“He did the same with Europeans, Germans, and NATO,” the senior official told Ynet. “That’s his worldview. He reflects the wind blowing in parts of the Republican Party, which are now the majority. Most of the public diplomacy budgets go to evangelicals because we are also losing them.”

It was not immediately clear which specific comments by Israeli cabinet members Vance was referring to, as many have been critical of the deal, but none have allegedly criticized Trump personally.

However, in a separate interview with The New York Times recorded earlier, Vance singled out Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who have reportedly been largely sidelined by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from security-related decisions

Smotrich wrote on 𝕏 that the deal “is bad for Israel and for the entire free world,” adding that Israel would need to “continue the campaign to topple the regime ourselves and in creative ways,” without mentioning Trump by name.

Ben Gvir noted, “Trump's agreement does not bind us. Israel is not subject to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign nation!”

EXCLUSIVE: Vice President JD Vance on what benchmarks and measures are in place to make sure Iran won't fund Hezbollah going forward: "It's just something that you're going to see...if we see the Iranians sending money to Hezbollah, it's going to be obvious." More here.… pic.twitter.com/kpORSzvVIU

— David Brody (@DBrodyReports) June 18, 2026

“We emphasize: We love the USA and are grateful to President Trump. And yet, the State of Israel is not a banana republic,” he added. In a separate post, he responded to Trump’s suggestion that Syria should handle Hezbollah.

“The idea of abandoning our security into the hands of ISIS terrorists, the beheaders and child murderers, will not happen,” Ben Gvir said.

Speaking to the NYT regarding Netanyahu, Vance said, “I don’t think Bibi himself has actually criticized the deal. Because I think he’s maybe a little bit more familiar with the details of what’s in it. But you’ve seen people in their system, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who’ve attacked the deal.”

“It’s clear that large segments of the Israeli political system and population are very sensitive about this deal. But I also think they’re picking up on some misinformation about the deal and running with it and sort of panicking about it,” Vance said. He also said the deal “will be good for the entire region and for the world.”

This is the proposal, @JDVance:

​To deal with the Nazis of the 21st century, just as the United States dealt with the Nazis of the 20th century. pic.twitter.com/kv0wbRa9gi

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) June 18, 2026

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

To this, Ben Gvir retorted on Thursday, “This is the proposal, [JD Vance]: ​To deal with the Nazis of the 21st century, just as the United States dealt with the Nazis of the 20th century.”

Vance also noted there is “this weird panic almost in the Israeli system that I’ve picked up on where they assume that everything that is contemplated that is good for Iran will happen – but that will happen without the Iranians changing any behavior… do they actually think we’re going to release sanctions on the Iranian system if they’re still funding a terrorist organization?”

“The answer is: Of course not. So I find this whole freakout in Israel a little bit odd because I think that it comes from a place of mistrust, and I think that America has earned the trust of that region of the world,” he concluded.

At the time of publication, Netanyahu had not responded to Vance’s remarks.

The only official to immediately respond to Vance was Miki Zohar, Israel's minister of Culture and Sports, who posted on 𝕏: “The intelligence we provide to the United States has saved countless lives of American citizens. The technologies developed in Israel are used by the United States military before anyone else. The partnership between Israel and the United States is vital to the free world.”