THE NEW YORK TIMES: The vice president delivered a rebuke to Israeli critics of the agreement, warning them not to alienate their most important ally, as the administration sought to rebut mounting criticism of the deal.
Vice President JD Vance on Thursday delivered an extraordinarily direct rebuke to Israeli critics of the U.S.-Iran peace agreement, as he sought to defend the preliminary deal with repeated misrepresentations of some of its terms.
“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,” Mr. Vance said. He added, “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 agreement has faced mounting criticism from Israeli lawmakers, as well as some Republicans in Washington, who argue that it gives Iran economic relief while punting negotiations on its nuclear program down the road.
The 60-day clock for the United States and Iran to negotiate the future of Iran’s nuclear program and other issues has begun, Mr. Vance said.
Not long after, Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said in his first statement since the preliminary agreement was signed that Iran would not submit to “excessive demands,” according to Iranian state media.
“In-person negotiations that will take place in the future do not mean accepting the enemy’s view,” he said in the statement, which cast his country’s bargaining position as a strong one. Mr. Trump, he said, had struck a deal “out of desperation.”
Israel is not a party to the deal, and its fighting with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia in Lebanon, had threatened to derail the U.S.-Iran talks, to the increasing frustration of American officials. Mr. Vance’s barbed remarks from the White House came a day after President Trump himself admonished Israel over its military campaign.
Mr. Vance also reminded Israeli critics of the deal that, according to him, two-thirds of the weapons “that have protected your homeland” were American-made and paid for by Americans’ tax dollars. Iran War Live Updates » | Erica L. Green, Max Bearak, Jonathan Swan and Rebecca F. Elliott | Thursday, June 18, 2026
