United States Vice President JD Vance has accused some members of Israel’s government of trying to influence US public opinion ⁠to oppose a deal to end the war with Iran.

In remarks made during an interview with US podcaster Joe Rogan that aired on Wednesday, Vance offered unusually pointed criticism of one of Washington’s closest allies.

Vance defended a deal the US reached last month to end the war with Iran, adding, “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, whom many view as a potential future presidential candidate, has previously criticised Israel in what has become a widening public rift between the two countries.

“There’s a literal foreign influence campaign being funded to tank the very deal that I was pursuing,” Vance told Rogan, citing a report published by Time Magazine on Monday, which said a former Trump campaign manager was hired on behalf of Israel to run a digital campaign to influence US views of Israel and the Iran war.

“You have seen this very discreet, extremely well-funded campaign to try to derail the negotiation and try to derail the deal,” said Vance.

“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 added.

Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington, DC, said the Israeli-linked influence campaign Vance referenced is likely “meant to influence Trump’s MAGA [Make America Great Again] base”, which is increasingly divided over US policy towards Israel.

“That explains why Vance went on the Joe Rogan podcast,” said Culhane. “[Rogan is] one of the most popular podcasters in the country and is very much a key voice in influencing the young men that make up the MAGA base.” 

Influence campaigns ‘affect political judgement’

The US vice president also claimed an Israeli-linked influence campaign had targeted him personally over his diplomatic outreach to Iran.

“People are attacking me viciously for quite literally trying to accomplish the negotiation objective that the president set for the country,” he said.

Vance acknowledged that both allies and adversaries alike seek to influence US policy, and said, “It doesn’t bother me that Israel tries to do this.”

However, he said, “What does bother me is when those operations, those influence campaigns, actually affect ⁠American political judgement.”

Vance defended the US-Iran interim peace agreement reached last month, which was intended to end the war, but has faced significant opposition in Israel.

The agreement appears to have largely unravelled over escalating attacks by the US and Iran during the last week.

Asked if he ‌thought that the US would have engaged in the most recent war with Iran were it not for Israeli influence, Vance 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,” Vance said.

Vance has previously slammed Israeli critics of the Iran deal, saying in June that US President Donald Trump is Israel’s only ⁠ally, in a sharp rebuke that referenced the billions in US ⁠military aid to Israel.

‘Quite shocking’

Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas said Vance’s latest remarks were “unprecedented” and show that the US and Israel “are not on the same page” right now.

“No sitting US vice president has ever accused Israel of openly running a campaign to undermine American policy,” Pinkas, now a columnist at The New Republic, told Al Jazeera.

“There have been disagreements in the past, there has been friction. But for a sitting vice president to come out so vociferously, clearly, and crudely against an Israeli influence campaign against the US is truly unprecedented,” Pinkas said. “It is quite shocking.”

Al Jazeera’s Culhane also said Vance’s remarks were “unheard of”.

Separately, Vance weighed in on the controversy surrounding the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying Epstein had unspecified high-level connections to both US and Israeli intelligence agencies.

Israel’s government did not immediately comment on Vance’s remarks. (Al Jazeera)

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JD Vance is expected to fly to Islamabad at the head of a US diplomatic delegation on Tuesday if Iran agrees to further talks in the Pakistani capital as the deadline for the current ceasefire looms.

The US vice-president will travel with Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law – though Iran’s president warned there remained a “deep historical mistrust” of the US.

Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran was concerned about “unconstructive and contradictory signals from American officials” and concluded they amounted to an effort to seek the country’s surrender. “Iranians do not submit to force,” he said.

However, one senior Iranian official told the Reuters news agency that Tehran was “positively reviewing” its participation, amid reports that its delegation would again be headed by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf if Vance attends.

Ghalibaf said later that Iran would not accept negotiations with the US while under threat, adding in the post on X early on Tuesday that “we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield”. He also accused Trump of seeking to “turn this negotiating table – in his own imagination – into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering.”

Tehran called for an end to the US blockade of the strait of Hormuz, while Trump repeated a demand that Iran should never be allowed to build a nuclear weapon and even said he would be willing to meet Iranian leaders himself.

Earlier, the US president had confused the situation by telling the New York Post that Vance and his team were “heading over now” and he expected them to be arriving in Islamabad that evening.

That was quickly corrected by US officials who said while there had been a discussion about Vance leaving on Monday, the vice-president was in fact expected to depart on Tuesday morning if the talks were taking place.

A second round of high-stakes discussions to end a war begun by US and Israeli bombing at the end of February could – if they go ahead – take place on Wednesday, with the threat of renewed outbreak of fighting in the background.

Trump said he now considers the two-week ceasefire with Iran ends “Wednesday evening Washington time”, extending the pause for an extra 24 hours to allow the critical meeting in Islamabad to take place.

In an interview with Bloomberg, he added it was “highly unlikely that I’d extend it” further and indicating bombing could restart shortly after – though in the same conversation the president also insisted that “I’m not going to be rushed into making a bad deal. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

Vance led the US team during 21 hours of failed discussions with Iran earlier in the month, which collapsed after Iran would not agree to US demands to end nuclear enrichment and hand over its 440kg of highly enriched uranium.

The Iranians had said there remained a deficit of trust with the US, and wanted assurances they would not be attacked again if a final agreement was reached. Though Iran was intensively bombed during the five-week US-Israel joint campaign, Tehran’s leadership does not believe it has been defeated.

Pakistan has been preparing for possible negotiations since Sunday, setting up a security lockdown and suspending public transport in the capital. Islamabad’s electricity board also promised that power cuts would be suspended in the city while negotiations continue.

Power cuts lasting six to seven hours a day have become typical in cities across Pakistan as the country grapples with oil and gas shortages caused by the double closure of the strait of Hormuz by Iran and the US.

Trump had imposed a blockade on Iranian ports in response to Iran’s decision to charge tolls on merchant shipping crossing the strategic waterway, and on Sunday the US military seized an Iranian-flagged container ship trying to cross, raising concerns an escalation of hostilities would prevent peace talks resuming.

US central command said the Touska had been seized after its crew had ignored six hours of warnings. Its engines were disabled by fire from a US destroyer and it was then captured by marines from the USS Tripoli, arriving by helicopter and roping down on to the merchant vessel.

Though Iran had briefly lifted its own blockade on Friday, it reimposed it again on Saturday because the US would not lift its counter-blockade. One tanker in the region was attacked by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Saturday and a second container ship was struck by an unknown projectile.

Commercial shipping was once again at a near standstill in the strait. Three tankers made the crossing on Monday – after 18 ships had transited on Saturday – and the price of Brent crude oil was up by $5 to more than $95 on Monday, reflecting the renewed maritime danger.

Israel and Lebanon are due to hold a second round of ambassador level talks in Washington on Thursday, the US state department said, the first discussions between the two countries since a 10-day ceasefire in the theatre was announced last week.

Israel also told residents of southern Lebanon to stay out of a zone of territory next to the border, and warned people not to approach the area of the Litani River, as it sought to consolidate its military grip on the area while the ceasefire is ongoing.

A map posted by the country’s military on social media marked a red line through 21 villages across the south, covering an area 5km to 10km from the border. (The Guardian)

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