US Vice President J.D. Vance arrives on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews. (Photo by Reuters)
Amid the rapidly developing situation in West Asia, US Vice President J.D. Vance said that the United States and Israel are not always on the same page, underscoring that Washington will prioritize its own interests when disagreements arise.In an exclusive interview with CBS, scheduled to air June 14, Vance said that while Israel remains one of America’s closest partners, the two countries do not necessarily share identical interests on every issue.“Prime Minister Netanyahu governs a country that has clearly been a very close partner of the United States. But even when we’ve been close partners, sometimes we have perfectly aligned interests, and sometimes we have incompatible interests,” Vance told CBS’s Robert Costa.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described him as a leader who “strongly asserts his country’s interests” but said President Donald Trump was equally clear about pursuing what serves American interests.“Sometimes it means we’re on the same page, and other times it means we’re not,” Vance said. He added: “When that diverges, we have to, unfortunately for the Israelis, choose the side of the American people, which we always do.”
In response to a question about whether Netanyahu made mistakes in dealing with relations with Washington, Vance replied that the Israeli leader “definitely made a mistake in some matters,” but he refrained from going into details, saying that it is better to hold such discussions in private.At the same time, Vance emphasized that Netanyahu remains a “good partner” and said the two countries will continue to work closely together.He added: “We will continue to work together. But when interests diverge, the United States will pursue the best interests of our nation, and that is what will happen.”Vance’s comments come amid reports of growing disagreements between Trump and Netanyahu over the handling of the conflict in West Asia, especially Israel’s military response and its approach toward Iran.
