\u201cEven when we\u2019ve been close partners, sometimes we have interests that are perfectly aligned, and sometimes we have interests that are misaligned,\u201d Vance said of Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what I\u2019ve seen with the prime minister is that he aggressively asserts the interests of his country.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n Vance added, \u201cWe have to fundamentally be focused on what is in the United States\u2019 best interest. So they\u2019ve been a great partner in a lot of ways, but we also have to focus on what is in America\u2019s best interest, and where that diverges, we, unfortunately for the Israelis, have to choose the side of the American people, which we always do.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if Netanyahu has made mistakes in his relations with the US regarding Iran, Vance responded, \u201cLook, he\u2019s certainly gotten some things wrong.\u201d He declined to elaborate.<\/p>\n Vance added, \u201cHe\u2019s been a good partner, we\u2019re going to keep on working together,\u201d but reiterated that \u201cwhere interests diverge, the United States is going to pursue the best interests of our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Vance told Fox News<\/a> that \u201cwhile Israel obviously has some objectives that it has, the United States\u2019 main objective in Iran is to ensure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Israel and the US have both cited Iran\u2019s nuclear program as a reason for going to war together on February 28, Jerusalem has also emphasized the additional goals of ending Iran\u2019s support for its terror proxies across the region, as well as its ballistic missile program, and setting the stage for the fall of the Islamic Republic regime altogether.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the last year and a half, we\u2019ve created the space necessary where the president believes \u2013 and I think that he\u2019s right \u2013 that we can get the long-term settlement to Iran\u2019s nuclear deal,\u201d the vice president said Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, Israel may like that, they may not like that,\u201d he added. \u201cBut fundamentally, we think this is in the best interest of the United States of America.\u201d<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Vance said a deal \u201ccould happen in the next week, but it could also happen months from now,\u201d though he rejected the assessment that Tehran was intentionally stringing along the US.<\/p>\n The relationship between Israel and the US administration has come under\u00a0scrutiny<\/a> in recent days.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, an Israeli official expressed rare frustration with US President Donald Trump, after the US responded to Iran\u2019s downing of a US Army helicopter, despite having leaned on Israel to absorb attacks against its own troops without significantly escalating in response.<\/p>\n \u201cThe US understandably felt that not responding would have made them look weak, but when we said the same thing following attacks from Iran and Hezbollah, we were told by the administration to show restraint,\u201d said the Israeli official, who spoke anonymously.<\/p>\n \t Nevertheless, a source in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office told The Times of Israel that Netanyahu and Trump are \u201cfully coordinated,\u201d adding that they speak \u201cevery other day, sometimes every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump and Netanyahu appeared at odds earlier this week when the US president urged Israel\u2019s premier not to escalate after Iran launched ballistic missile attacks, but Israel nevertheless carried out strikes.<\/p>\n Trump has since taken a tougher stance toward Tehran following the helicopter incident, and the US launched fresh strikes in Iran on Wednesday night, though he has not abandoned efforts to reach a diplomatic deal, which he again asserted on Wednesday was close.<\/p>\n Jacob Magid and Nava Freiberg contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t She died more than four decades ago, but Leah Goldberg remains a magnetic and enigmatic figure: Israel\u2019s most beloved poet, a powerful woman who lived with her mother and never married, who reinvented herself from the ashes of World War I through her magical writing.<\/p>\n You can screen ‘The Five Houses of Leah Goldberg’ June 4-11.\u00a0 Join The Times of Israel Community today to support our work and watch this and other outstanding documentary films in our DocuNation series.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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\n\t\tLeft: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset in Jerusalem, June 3, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90); Right: US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)<\/p>\n
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