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As it appears that a long-lasting peace could be on the horizon amid a newly signed memorandum between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran, many details will now be hashed out between the two nations – including one key sticking point concerning Israel and Lebanon.
During a press briefing on Thursday, Vice President J.D. Vance answered difficult questions about the war with Iran and the 60-day memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed this week. One key point that must be resolved is the Iranians’ demand that Israel cease hostilities in Lebanon as it pursues Hezbollah.
“I think the president’s expectation is that all of our friends, Israelis, the Arabs in the region, we’re going to work together and actually see this deal to completion,” Vance said. “…What I will say, and this does bother me, is that you have seen people within [Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s] cabinet, who have come out and attacked the deal, and in some ways, very personally attack the President of the United States. And I guess my message to them would be twofold: number one, Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time, and he happens to be the head of state of the world’s superpower. If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.”
He also addressed a second point: Israel is highly dependent upon the United States for its defensive capabilities. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, since 2000, 78 percent of Israel’s arms imports have come from the United States, and it consistently receives billions of dollars in American aid.
“To some of these cabinet members in Israel who are attacking the President of the United States, the other thing that I would say, is that over the last three months, two-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected your homeland have been built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars,” Vance stated.
He added, “The problem for Israel is not Donald J. Trump, and anybody in Israel that thinks their biggest problem is the President of the United States, needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in.”
So far this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has remained resolute that the IDF will remain in Southern Lebanon, despite pressure from the United States to de-escalate its war against Hezbollah in the region.
As reported by RSBN, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had previously made it clear that Israel must withdraw its presence from Lebanon if a deal between the U.S. and Iran is to be successful.
President Trump had voiced frustration with Israeli aggression in Lebanon during comments to the press at the G7 Summit this week in France, noting that his relationship with PM Netanyahu was “great,” but suggested Israeli attacks in Lebanon had gone on “for too long, and too many people are being killed.”
“And you don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they’re not all Hezbollah – that I can tell you,” the president remarked.
RSBN previously reported that the violence in Lebanon has tragically led to the deaths of at least 3,700 people, including many children.
In France, President Trump said that his administration sent a copy of the MOU with Iran to Israel, suggesting that the U.S. junior military partner in this war was, perhaps, not actively involved in the negotiations that led to this long-awaited preliminary agreement.