Vance claims Israel is swaying US opinions against Iran deal

United States Vice President JD Vance says some Israeli government members are trying to sway US public opinion to keep the war with Iran going.

Mr Vance made this claim in a podcast interview that aired on Wednesday. He accused some Israeli officials of trying to sabotage the deal with Iran by manipulating how Americans feel about it. This is a direct shot at one of Washington’s closest allies.

The vice president shared these thoughts during a talk with US conservative podcaster Joe Rogan.

"There’s a literal foreign influence campaign being funded to tank the very deal that I was pursuing."

"You have seen this very discreet, extremely well-funded campaign to try to derail the negotiation and try to derail the deal," he told Mr Rogan.

Mr Vance was deeply involved in negotiations that led to the agreement made in mid-June. This signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) allowed talks to continue, reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and included a now-cancelled 60-day ceasefire.

He defended the MOU, which worried Israel. He said that agreeing to a 60-day negotiation period would eventually lead to a final deal. He warned Israeli leaders not to attack "the only powerful ally" they have "anywhere left in the entire world."

But the deal did not work out as expected due to rising tensions over the Strait. The US has carried out attacks on Iran for six nights in the last week. On Thursday, US strikes hit civilian areas, killing two people and injuring four in Southern Iran. They targeted power facilities and a train station.

Despite this, Mr Vance said there are "some people we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely."

He added that he "doesn’t mind" when he sees "certain elements of the Israeli government" criticizing the US position. He noted that foreign governments often try to influence the US government.

"What bothers me is actually when Americans allow, meaning American leadership allows, that influence to affect their judgement and to affect what they are advocating for," he explained.

He also mentioned that he had faced an Israel-linked influence campaign aimed at him personally for his diplomatic efforts with Iran.

"People are attacking me viciously," he said.

He explained that he was attacked for "quite literally" trying to "accomplish the negotiation objective that the president set for the country."