Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against Vice President JD Vance after the vice president warned Israeli leaders against publicly criticizing the United States, calling America Israel’s “only powerful ally.”

Vance made the remarks while defending President Donald Trump’s Iran policy and responding to criticism from members of Israel’s government.

“If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government,” Vance said, “I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.”

The vice president also described President Trump as “the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time,” adding that many of Israel’s defensive capabilities have been built in the United States and funded by American taxpayers.

Asked about Vance’s comments, Netanyahu struck a respectful but firm tone.

“First of all, I respect JD Vance,” the prime minister said. “We have a very good relationship, but it doesn’t mean that I agree with everything that he says.”

Netanyahu then reaffirmed his praise for President Trump.

“Donald Trump is great—the greatest friend we ever had in the White House,” he said. “And I stand by that completely.”

However, Netanyahu rejected the idea that Israel’s international support depends on a single country.

“Secondly, we have some other friends, like a small country called India,” Netanyahu said with a smile. “You know, it has 1.4 billion people. And boy, do we have tremendous support there. I have this Facebook thing, and I’m just flooded by the overwhelming support there.”

He said India is just one example of the many nations that privately stand with Israel despite public political pressures.

“And we have many others,” Netanyahu continued. “Their media and their social media are inundated with anti-Israel, antisemitic material. Many leaders call me up and say, ‘Hey, look, I’ve got this problem with public opinion, but I want you to know we respect you.’”

According to Netanyahu, those conversations often lead to requests for expanded cooperation.

“They ask, ‘Can we make some deals? Can you teach us some of the things that your military does? Can we have some of your AI and cyber expertise?’”

Netanyahu concluded by arguing that Israel’s diplomatic relationships are far stronger than they often appear in public.

“So the relations are not quite as they appear,” he said. “We have many, many friends.”