Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday dismissed reports that he had a contentious exchange with Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu over Iran policy, saying the two leaders had an honest but cordial discussion and insisting there was no confrontation.

The controversy stemmed from Vance’s recent appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, during which he claimed that certain figures within the Israeli government had supported efforts to undermine negotiations with Iran and prevent a possible ceasefire agreement.

During an interview Wednesday on Fox News with Laura Ingraham, Vance was asked about an Axios report alleging that Netanyahu challenged him over those comments during the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Washington, D.C., at Blair House.

“He didn’t confront me. We had a nice and frank conversation,” Vance said, rejecting the characterization of the meeting.

The Vice President emphasized that while the United States and Israel remain close allies, they do not always see every issue the same way.

“As I’ve said repeatedly, Israel has been a great partner. They’re an ally of the United States of America. But like France or Britain or any other ally of the United States of America, we sometimes have differences of opinion,” the Vice President noted.

Vance said his responsibility is to advance American interests above all else, even when disagreements arise with friendly nations.

“And I think that the American media is fascinated by this dynamic, but the simple reality is my job is to pursue the interests of no other nation on Earth except for the United States of America. So when our interests are aligned with Israel, we talk about how to accomplish those shared objectives. When my viewpoint is averse to the Prime Minister of Israel, we have a frank conversation about that.”

Reflecting on the meeting, Vance reiterated that the discussion was respectful despite the differing viewpoints.

“a pleasant but direct conversation. I didn’t feel confronted.”

Netanyahu also addressed the reports during an interview with ABC News while he was in Washington, rejecting the suggestion that Israel had pursued the policy Vance described on the podcast.

“Well, we’re not actually. I had a very good conversation with the vice president this morning, and I think we straightened that out because we’re not. That’s not our policy,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

{Matzav.com}