Vance doesn't mince words in response to criticism from Israel over U.S. deal with Iran

Vice President JD Vance.

Vice President JD Vance delivered a noticeably blunt response on Thursday to members of the Israeli government who have publicly criticized the memorandum of understanding signed by President Trump and the president of Iran that is aimed at ending the war in the Middle East. 

Several members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet have voiced criticism of the deal, Vance said, with some of the criticism centering on Iran being allowed to keep its ballistic missiles. 

“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,” Vance said during a White House press briefing on Thursday. “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."

Vance didn't stop there. "Anybody 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 that country is in," the vice president added. He went on to respond to criticism over the ballistic missile aspect of the deal.

“It’s not just the bullets, but it’s the actual gun, and that’s what we were extremely effective at in destroying during the last three months of the campaign," Vance said, arguing the U.S. had taken out a "significant number" of Iran's missile launchers. "All the president said yesterday is that, of course, countries don’t give up the right of self-defense.”

Trump signed the memorandum late Wednesday night after a dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles. It was also signed by Iran's president, and the memorandum opens a 60-day negotiating window for the two sides to hammer out a deal.

Trump addressed criticism of the deal on social media, saying in a post on Truth, "These fools, who think I haven’t been tough enough on Iran, when the Stock Market Just Hit A RECORD HIGH, and Oil prices are 'tumbling' down, are either jealous, bad people, or stupid." Gas prices in the U.S. dropped below $4 a gallon on average in the U.S. for the first time since March on news of the signed deal, The Associated Press reported. And earlier this week, the Dow briefly climbed above 52,000 for the first time ever.

On Thursday's episode of The Rubin Report, Dave addressed the deal saying he reviewed the 14-point memorandum the Trump administration agreed to. "I don't think it's great. It seems like we are conceding an awful lot and Iran is not conceding much." But Dave said he's not ready to criticize Trump and his team just yet. "I think they deserve a little bit of our trust."

Below, watch Vance's remarks from Thursday's press briefing.