Vance Reportedly Told Others Netanyahu Was 'Wrong on Everything' on Iran, and a Middle East Institute Fellow Says It Lets Him Distance Himself From the War Without Attacking Trump, Fox News Reports
Fox News, citing an Axios report, says the vice president privately criticized Israel's prime minister over the Iran war. Analyst Natan Sachs calls it a low-risk way to separate from an unpopular war ahead of 2028. Vance has said the war is why Republicans lost.
Vice President JD Vance has reportedly told others that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "wrong on everything" about the Iran war, and Fox News says the split is feeding early talk about 2028.
The report. Fox News writer Emma Bussey says the comment was first reported by Axios on Nov. 4, after Republicans lost both chambers of Congress on Tuesday. Fox did not quote Vance directly on Netanyahu. It cites reports. Vance did write on X on Wednesday, "The reason we lost is the war," and has urged President Donald Trump to pursue a negotiated settlement rather than renewed strikes.
The analyst's view. Natan Sachs, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital that "low-level hostility" with Netanyahu helps Vance. It lets him "give some distance from the Trump administration, which has just taken a huge electoral beating," without attacking Trump. Sachs put it this way: Vance can "criticize the war, criticize Netanyahu, and not say any bad word about Trump." Sachs also said the next presidential campaign effectively began about midnight Wednesday.
The background. Fox says Netanyahu urged Trump to resume strikes on Iran before the midterms, but Trump held off after endorsing Netanyahu for re-election in Israel. Sachs said Vance's main worry appeared to be a plan for regime change that Netanyahu brought to Trump. Fox also notes Vance declined to endorse Netanyahu's campaign.
The diplomacy. Axios reported that Vance sent a letter through Qatari intermediaries last month to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, proposing renewed talks that address Iran's nuclear program. A U.S. official said Trump backed the outreach, and Rezaei confirmed receiving it but said he had not replied. Fox cites Reuters saying Tehran sent a formal nuclear proposal through Qatar on Thursday, tied to seven demands. The White House is weighing renewed strikes, continued economic and naval pressure, or a deal.
The polling. Fox cites the AP Voter Poll, which found roughly six in 10 voters said U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision.
Why it matters here. We carried Trump's comments that he would "do it again" and the Republican arguments over whether the war cost the party. This report adds a 2028 angle: the argument over the war is now also an argument over who leads the party next.
What we could not check. We did not see the Axios report, so we cannot confirm the "wrong on everything" wording or who heard it. Sachs's view that Vance is positioning himself is an outside analyst's reading, not something Vance said. Fox does not include a response from Vance or Netanyahu.