US Vice President JD Vance and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a private meeting in Washington on Tuesday night, directly addressing their long-standing disagreements regarding the war with Iran and related diplomacy. US and Israeli officials described the meeting as “frank” and “direct,” according to a report by Axios.
Since the outbreak of the war with Iran, Vance had been known as one of Netanyahu’s harshest critics within US President Donald Trump’s inner circle. As the conflict dragged on, he began to criticize Netanyahu’s policies even more severely.
The report states that Vance played a significant role in shaping US policy and discussions concerning Iran during the war. He was particularly instrumental in upholding the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Although Netanyahu was strongly opposed to the agreement, he did not publicly voice his dissent; he had hoped the deal would eventually collapse on its own—which is precisely what happened a few weeks later.
According to US and Israeli officials, a quiet tension had been brewing between the two leaders for some time. Netanyahu was displeased with Vance’s public criticism.
Vance had alleged that the Israeli Prime Minister was stoking opposition to the MOU and failing to demonstrate sufficient loyalty to President Trump. Conversely, Netanyahu had privately criticized Vance’s role in the conduct of the war.
Vance believed that Netanyahu was orchestrating a political campaign against him—using close associates and pro-Netanyahu media outlets in both the US and Israel—in an attempt to undermine his position.
Ultimately, the meeting held last Tuesday at Blair House in Washington was viewed as an opportunity to resolve the misunderstandings between the two leaders. A senior Israeli official stated that during the meeting, Netanyahu discussed Israel’s standing within the US Republican Party and addressed Vance’s recent criticisms of the Israeli government.
The official described the conversation as open and candid; a US official echoed this assessment, characterizing the discussion as direct.
However, the Vice President’s office declined to comment on the matter.
No details were provided regarding whether the ice in the relationship between the two leaders thawed during this latest meeting.
