US Vice President JD Vance had a tense phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week, during which he told the premier off for what he viewed as overly rosy assumptions about the war in Iran, Axios reported.
According to the outlet, Vance pressed Netanyahu on his confidence regarding the likelihood of regime change. One US official told Axios that "Before the war, Bibi really sold it to the president as being easy, as regime change being a lot likelier than it was. And the VP was clear-eyed about some of those statements", referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.
After the call, a US official claimed Israel was actively undermining Vance, who has emerged as a central figure in ceasefire talks with the Islamic Republic. A long-time critic of open-ended foreign interventions, Vance is participating in negotiations alongside US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The same official alleged that Israel was responsible for reports suggesting Iran preferred negotiating with Vance because he might be more receptive to a deal to end the conflict. "It's an Israeli op against JD," the official told Axios.
Another senior US official told Axios that, in their view, Vance remained the most viable path to a negotiated end to the war. "If the Iranians can't strike a deal with Vance, they don't get a deal. He's the best they're gonna get," the official said.
Vance Treads Iran Tightrope
For a man with his eye on the White House in 2028, US Vice President JD Vance has kept a low profile since the start of the Iran war.
The former US marine, who served in Iraq, built a political brand as a non-interventionist who wanted to keep America out of any more long, foreign wars.
Even Trump admitted they had their differences on "Operation Epic Fury."
"He was, I would say, philosophically a little bit different than me," Trump said on Monday of Vance. "I think he was maybe less enthusiastic about going -- but he was quite enthusiastic."
While he has publicly backed Trump's Iran operation, Vance has only given one television interview since it started, in which he stressed it would not be another American "forever war."
However, Vance earlier this month downplayed the differences and said, "I think one big difference is...we have a smart president whereas in the past, we've had dumb presidents and I trust President Trump to get the job done, to do a good job for the American people, and to make sure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated," said Vance, standing alongside Trump during an Oval Office event.
(With inputs from agencies)
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