Vance slams Israel for thwarting Iran talks

US VP says Epstein linked to Israeli 'deep state', US intel

WASHINGTON:

US Vice President JD Vance said some members of the Israeli government had tried to influence US public opinion to oppose a deal by the US to end the war with Iran, in a podcast episode with host Joe Rogan posted on Wednesday.

The comments echoed earlier criticism of Israeli government policy by Vance, whom many view as a potential future presidential candidate, in a widening public rift between the two countries. "You have seen this very discreet, extremely well-funded campaign to try to derail the negotiation and try to derail the deal," he said.

"A bunch of people who have quite literally been paid by a former Trump campaign person who was himself paid by certain elements within the Israeli government. And those people are attacking me viciously," he added.

Vance defended a deal reached last month to end the war with Iran, which critics in the US and Israel have slammed for failing to curb Iran's missile program and providing no clear path to dismantling its nuclear facilities, while constraining Israel in its war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

"I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there have been people within the Israeli government who are trying to, like, actually shift us away from that policy because they want to continue the military campaign," Vance said.

The vice president said that, while he has "good relationships" with some members of the Israeli government, "there are some people within their system that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely".

He said that many countries, allies and adversaries try to influence American policy and that "it doesn't bother me that Israel tries to do this, it frankly doesn't even bother me that Russia or some of these other countries do it". He said it was "just the nature of being a political leader in 2026".

"What does bother me is when those operations, those influence campaigns, actually affect American political judgment," said the vice president.

Vance lashed out at Israeli critics of the Iran deal in June, saying President Donald Trump is Israel's only ally, in a sharp rebuke that referenced the billions in US defence aid the country receives. Israeli senior officials, speaking anonymously, have said the deal's terms were bad for Israel because they failed to address concerns over Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program, a view they say is shared across Israel's leadership.

When asked if he thought the US would have engaged in the most recent war with Iran were it not for Israeli influence, he said, "yes, yes I do." "I think the president, separate from any influence from Israel, believes very strongly, and again I agree with this, that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon," he added.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jeffrey Epstein

United States Vice President JD Vance says Jeffrey Epstein "seemed to be connected" to elements of the "Israeli deep state" as well as the "highest levels of American intelligence".

In a wide-ranging interview by podcaster Joe Rogan on Wednesday, Vance also acknowledged that the Trump administration "screwed up" on communications around the Epstein files.

Nearly an hour and 47 minutes into the interview, host Rogan asks Vance: "Well, most people think he [Epstein] was Mossad."

Vance responds: "Yeah, Mossad or CIA or some other deep state, whether in America or Israel or another country. He clearly had connections to the upper levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence."

The US vice president then claims that Epstein "seemed to be connected to the elements of the Israeli deep state that were left of centre". With input from News Desk