Vice President JD Vance revealed on Sunday that the Trump administration was concerned Iran could retaliate against Israel after Israeli strikes in Beirut threatened to derail negotiations that ultimately led to a peace agreement between Washington and Tehran.
Speaking about the lead-up to the deal to Fox News on Sunday, Vance said US officials were worried Iran would launch a large-scale missile attack against Israel in response to the strikes. He said Iranian officials assured the United States during negotiations that they would not respond militarily and would instead move forward with the agreement.
"After the Israelis struck Beirut, we were very worried and we saw a lot of evidence that the Iranians were going to launch a large number of missiles at the Israelis with our communication with them over the course of getting to this, to this signed peace deal, they assured us that they were not going to respond to the Israelis, and they were going to sing this agreement and get the peace. Now, of course, you always have to verify these things, Trey, and we know that there are a lot of people in the Middle East who do not want to make this deal happen," including terrorist groups, Vance said.
The comments are a recent sign that the Trump admin is frustrated with the Israelis. Prior to the signing of the Iran peace deal, Vance said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had "certainly gotten some things wrong" as disagreements emerged between the two allies over developments in the region.
In an interview with CBS News, Vance declined to provide specific examples but said Netanyahu's priorities do not always align with those of the United States: "Prime Minister Netanyahu, look, he governs a country that has obviously been a very close partner of the United States."
"But, even when we've been close partners, sometimes we have interests that are perfectly aligned and sometimes we have interests that are misaligned. And what I've seen with the prime minister is that he aggressively asserts the interests of his country – sometimes that means we're on the same page, sometimes it means we're not."
The comments followed friction between President Donald Trump and Netanyahu over Israeli military operations in Lebanon. Trump objected to military actions that threatened ongoing diplomatic efforts with Iran.
Last week, Trump told an Axios journalist that he had called Netanyahu "effing crazy" during a phone conversation, saying he had been "a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon."
Speaking about the lead-up to the deal to Fox News on Sunday, Vance said US officials were worried Iran would launch a large-scale missile attack against Israel in response to the strikes. He said Iranian officials assured the United States during negotiations that they would not respond militarily and would instead move forward with the agreement.
"After the Israelis struck Beirut, we were very worried and we saw a lot of evidence that the Iranians were going to launch a large number of missiles at the Israelis with our communication with them over the course of getting to this, to this signed peace deal, they assured us that they were not going to respond to the Israelis, and they were going to sing this agreement and get the peace. Now, of course, you always have to verify these things, Trey, and we know that there are a lot of people in the Middle East who do not want to make this deal happen," including terrorist groups, Vance said.
The comments are a recent sign that the Trump admin is frustrated with the Israelis. Prior to the signing of the Iran peace deal, Vance said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had "certainly gotten some things wrong" as disagreements emerged between the two allies over developments in the region.
In an interview with CBS News, Vance declined to provide specific examples but said Netanyahu's priorities do not always align with those of the United States: "Prime Minister Netanyahu, look, he governs a country that has obviously been a very close partner of the United States."
"But, even when we've been close partners, sometimes we have interests that are perfectly aligned and sometimes we have interests that are misaligned. And what I've seen with the prime minister is that he aggressively asserts the interests of his country – sometimes that means we're on the same page, sometimes it means we're not."
The comments followed friction between President Donald Trump and Netanyahu over Israeli military operations in Lebanon. Trump objected to military actions that threatened ongoing diplomatic efforts with Iran.
Last week, Trump told an Axios journalist that he had called Netanyahu "effing crazy" during a phone conversation, saying he had been "a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon."
