Vice President Vance Says Israeli Elements Tried to Shape U.S. Opinion Against Iran War Deal

Vice President JD Vance said in a nearly three-hour interview on the Joe Rogan Experience that some people within Israel's system are manipulating American public opinion to keep the Iran war going indefinitely. The interview was published on or before July 15, 2026. Vance stated that attacks from those efforts have targeted him personally for pursuing a diplomatic solution.

He pointed listeners to a Time article that described a big-budget mechanism Israel has sponsored to shore up Republican support for the war. Vance said people paid by former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, who was paid by certain elements within the Israeli government, are attacking him for trying to accomplish the negotiation objective set by the president.

Parscale runs Clock Tower X and serves as Chief Strategy Officer of Salem Media Group.

ZeroHedge reported that Israel started paying Parscale's firm $1.5 million a month last summer to create 100 pieces of digital content every month for multiple social media platforms. Vance defended diplomacy over air power alone. He said bombing Iran could remove radar, drones and missiles but that it remains too easy to fire at ships in the straits, so negotiators must be willing to talk.

Vance noted that President Trump has publicly said Vance was less enthusiastic about the decision to launch the war on Iran. He described his role as vice president as giving the best advice he can to the president. A New York Times report from April 2026 portrayed Vance as a skeptic who warned that a war could unleash regional chaos and involve high casualties.

A deal was reached last month to end the Iran war. Vance also said the Trump administration absolutely screwed up the communications of the Epstein files but did not do so to hide information. He faulted then-US Attorney General Pam Bondi for overstating what the administration had and did not have.