Vice President JD Vance acknowledged that the United States and Israel do not always see eye-to-eye on regional issues, emphasizing that while the two allies remain close partners, the Trump administration will ultimately pursue what it believes serves American interests best, particularly as negotiations with Iran continue.

The comments came during an interview with CBS News, where Vance discussed the sometimes-complicated relationship between Washington and Jerusalem amid the ongoing tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program.

“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,” Vance told Robert Costa in an interview airing this week on “CBS Sunday Morning” and of which excerpts were released on Wednesday.

Vance described Netanyahu as a leader focused on advancing Israel’s interests, while stressing that President Trump is equally committed to advancing the priorities of the American people.

“Sometimes that means we’re on the same page and sometimes it means that we’re not,” Vance said, adding that “where that diverges, we, unfortunately for the Israelis, have to choose the side of the American people, which we always do.”

Asked whether Netanyahu had made mistakes in his handling of issues involving the United States and the Iranian crisis, Vance indicated that the Israeli prime minister’s decisions have not always been perfect.

“He’s certainly gotten some things wrong,” stated Vance, who chose not to elaborate on specific errors, noting that such discussions “are better left in private.”

Despite those differences, Vance emphasized that cooperation between the two governments remains strong.

“But what I would say is that he’s been a good partner,” Vance said. “We’re gonna keep on working together. But where interests diverge, the United States is gonna pursue the best interests of our nation, and that’s how it’s gonna be.”

The vice president’s remarks come after weeks of public messaging from Trump underscoring that negotiations with Tehran will be directed by Washington and that Israel must recognize the president’s determination to chart his own course in seeking an agreement.

In additional excerpts from the interview released earlier this week, Vance said the administration believes it is nearing a long-term agreement aimed at preventing Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon, though he cautioned that a final breakthrough could come quickly or could still take months to complete.

“Right now, I feel that we are in a position to get a deal that is good for the United States economically and that really does deal with the Iranian nuclear program, not just now, not just while Donald Trump is president, but for the long term, to where my kids can say when they’re adults, ‘Iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon,'” Vance said.

He expressed confidence that the administration is making significant progress toward that objective.

“That’s the goal of the policy. And I think we’re very close to achieving that goal. But we still got some wood to chop. We’re going to keep doing it,” he added.

Vance delivered a similar message during an appearance on Fox News Monday evening, again emphasizing that while the United States and Israel share many strategic goals, American policy toward Iran will ultimately be guided by what Washington believes is best for the United States.

“The Israelis and the United States, we have a lot of shared interests. But we also have some situations where our interests diverge, and I think where the president has been very clear here is that while Israel obviously has some objectives that it has, the United States’ main objective in Iran is to ensure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon,” Vance said.

He argued that recent developments have created an opportunity to pursue a lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear issue.

“Over the last year and a half, we’ve created the space necessary where the president believes – and I think he’s right – that we can get a long-term settlement to Iran’s nuclear issue,” Vance stated.

Vance concluded by making clear that the administration’s strategy will proceed regardless of whether Israeli leaders fully embrace it.

“Now, Israel may like that, they may not like that, but fundamentally, we think this is in the best interest of the United States of America,” he said, adding that Washington will continue pursuing that goal because “that’s what the president of the United States was elected to do.”

{Matzav.com}