Friday, July 17, 2026 (HMC) – U.S. Vice President JD Vance has said that Israel has “lost public support for the war” in the United States, echoing remarks he said President Donald Trump has also made publicly.
Vance warned that foreign governments often try to shape U.S. policy, but said the greater concern arises when American leaders allow outside influence to affect their decisions.
He also claimed that a well-funded foreign influence campaign was launched to undermine his efforts to negotiate with Iran.
“There is a foreign influence campaign that is being heavily funded to sabotage the agreement I was trying to reach,” Vance said during The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, citing a report published by Time Magazine on Monday.
“A lot of the people receiving that money attacked me in bad faith. My response was: Fine, go ahead. I’m going to do what I believe is best for the American people,” he said.
“I represent the American people first, and that’s how I’ve tried to do this job,” Vance added.
Citing the Time Magazine article, Vance alleged that a former member of Trump’s campaign—whom he claimed was being paid by “elements within the Israeli government”—had criticized him over his negotiations with Iran.
“They attacked me relentlessly, saying you can’t negotiate with Iran,” he said.
Vance further said he had “no doubt” that individuals within the Israeli government had attempted to influence U.S. policy because they wanted Washington to continue supporting the military campaign.
Epstein Connection
When asked about claims that Jeffrey Epstein had ties to Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, Vance said it was possible the connection could have involved “Mossad, the CIA, or some other intelligence or deep-state entity—whether American, Israeli, or from another country.”
“He clearly had connections to the highest levels of American intelligence. He also clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence,” Vance said.
He added that Epstein “appeared to have connections with elements of Israel’s deep state that were closer to the center-left than the center-right.”
Discussing the administration’s handling of the Epstein case, Vance acknowledged shortcomings.
“If people want to say we mishandled the Epstein investigation, that’s fair. We did mishandle it, especially when it came to communication,” he said.
Vance noted that the U.S. Department of Justice recently released more than three million pages of documents in January under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Source: TRT World and agencies.
