The United States has strong ties with its European allies as well, but Washington does not formulate its foreign policy by submitting to allied countries, the US vice president said in a Washington address.
WASHINGTON, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 16th Sep, 2026) US Vice President JD Vance has said that the United States cannot make its middle East foreign policy subservient to Israel and must give priority to its own interests.
Washington will have to make decisions regarding the region while keeping its interests in view.
The US vice president said that the United States and Israel have a strong partnership and cooperate on numerous issues, but this does not mean Washington should follow the Israeli government’s position on every matter.
According to JD Vance, the US should work with Israel where the interests of both countries are shared, but where their interests differ, the United States must determine its policy independently.
Explaining US foreign policy and relations with Israel, Vance said Israel is an important US ally, but American foreign policy cannot be subordinate to any other country.
He also cited NATO as an example, saying that the United States has strong relations with its European allies as well, but Washington does not formulate its foreign policy by submitting to allied countries.
JD Vance’s statement comes at a time when the situation in the Middle East is highly sensitive due to the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
Washington is facing various diplomatic and security challenges related to the Iran war, tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the US military presence in the region.
JD Vance had previously said regarding the ongoing conflict with Iran that it was not possible to give a definitive timeline for ending the war.
No major disagreement was immediately expressed by Israeli officials over the US vice president’s latest statement.
Vance’s remarks indicate that Washington is emphasizing the principle of pursuing an independent policy on certain Middle East issues while maintaining its close relations with Israel.
The vice president said President Trump had repeatedly demonstrated that, in the interest of the United States, he was prepared to part ways with Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump was the only president in the past 40 years willing to say that Israel was a good partner but that he and Netanyahu had differing views on an issue, or that Netanyahu was wrong on a matter.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a close associate and former business partner of US President Donald Trump, said in an interview that relations between Trump and Netanyahu remained strong and stable.
He claimed that Israel and the United States cooperate extremely closely—so closely that many people could never understand the full extent of it.
Asked about declining support for Israel in the United States, the ambassador attributed it to misinformation and said that the war against Iran was in America’s interest as well as Israel’s.
“When we are partnering against Iran, we are not defending Israel; we are defending America,” he said.
