Vance accuses Israel of influence campaign against Iran deal
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- JD Vance accused members of Israel's government of trying to influence US public opinion to oppose the US-Iran peace deal, citing a Time Magazine report that said a former Trump campaign manager was hired on behalf of Israel to run a digital campaign.
- The Israeli-linked campaign was meant to influence Trump's MAGA base, which is increasingly divided over US policy toward Israel, according to Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane, who noted the Rogan podcast is a key voice with the young men in that base.
- Vance claimed he faced 'vicious' personal attacks over his Iran diplomatic outreach and said people within Israel's system are 'manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely,' though he added it 'doesn't bother me that Israel tries to do this.'
- Vance answered 'yes, yes I do' when asked if the US would have engaged in the most recent Iran war without Israeli influence, while stressing that Trump independently believes Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.
- Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas called Vance's remarks 'unprecedented' and 'quite shocking,' telling Al Jazeera that no sitting US vice president has ever accused Israel of openly running a campaign to undermine American policy.
- The US-Iran interim peace deal that Vance defended has largely unraveled over escalating US and Iranian attacks during the past week, according to the article.
Why it matters: A sitting US vice president publicly accusing Israel of funding an influence operation against American policy is a rare diplomatic rupture with direct political stakes. By choosing Rogan's podcast, Vance targeted the young male MAGA audience where the Israel-Iran split is already widening, sharpening an intra-coalition fight over the war.
