Web desk(National Times)- United States Vice President JD Vance on Thursday issued a rare rebuke of Israel during a White House press briefing, criticising Israeli lawmakers who had opposed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Washington and Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the deal, the two sides have agreed on a framework to end the war, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a 60-day timeline for further talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vance\u2019s comments come amid rising tensions between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf 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,\u201d Vance told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnybody 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talking about the MoU itself, the vice president noted that Iran will \u201chave to perform\u201d and honour its end of the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf they don\u2019t perform as we\u2019ve said before, they don\u2019t get any of the benefits of the bargain,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vance, a war sceptic who has become the public face of the deal Trump signed at Versailles on Thursday, rejected claims that the deal rewards Iran without achieving Trump\u2019s war aims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most controversial points have been around oil sales, sanctions relief and a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran, while there is no firm mechanism for destroying Iran\u2019s nuclear programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Vance said Iran would only get the rewards if it proves that it has complied with the terms that will be hammered out in a 60-day period that he said began on Thursday, following the signing of the MoU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of discussion \u2014 the MoU, the gentleman\u2019s agreements, the final deal. Words don\u2019t matter, ladies and gentlemen, we\u2019re about verification,\u201d Vance told reporters, adding that oil prices were falling, and said the US had lifted its blockade of Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US military \u201chas allowed north of a dozen ships to go through our naval blockade, and so we\u2019re also honouring our end of the early part of the agreement,\u201d Vance told journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trip to Switzerland on the cards
Vance said he now planned to head to Switzerland for technical talks on a long-term deal, although the arrangements were not yet finalised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI plan to go to Switzerland,\u201d Vance said. \u201cI suspect this weekend, but I\u2019m not sure. It just depends on exactly when the Iranians can get there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vance\u2019s new role as Iran pointman is a political gamble for a man who is widely expected to run for president in the 2028 US election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If a deal to end the war succeeds, it will be a boost for a long-term sceptic of US military entanglements \u2014 but if it fails, Trump has already said that he will blame Vance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI mean, I think the president was joking, as he often does,\u201d Vance said when asked if he feared that Trump would make him the fall guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut, no, look, the entire team has worked very well on this, and we\u2019ve got this thing to a very good place for the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Web desk(National Times)- United States Vice President JD Vance on Thursday issued a rare rebuke of Israel during a White House press briefing, criticising Israeli lawmakers who had opposed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Washington and Tehran. Under the deal, the two sides have agreed on a framework to end the war, reopening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n