A recent opinion piece in the New York Post has strongly refuted claims made by Vice President JD Vance regarding the failure of a proposed Iran peace deal. Vance, in an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience, suggested that Israel was responsible for the deal's collapse because it sought to prolong the conflict indefinitely.
The Post article asserts that Vance's assertion is "disgracefully wrong" and that Iran, not Israel, was the party that breached the 60-day "comprehensive cease-fire" established by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). According to the Post, Iran violated the agreement by attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz shortly after the MOU was established. The article contends that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard asserted control over the waterway and fired on vessels that did not comply, thereby reopening hostilities without Israeli involvement.
The Post further criticizes Vance's portrayal of Israel's objectives concerning Iran. It states that Israel's consistent aims have been to dismantle Iran's nuclear capabilities, weaken its conventional military, and facilitate the end of the current Iranian regime. The article acknowledges that Israel opposed the MOU, which was negotiated without its participation, but notes that Jerusalem eventually acceded to then-President Donald Trump's demands to de-escalate actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The opinion piece also addresses other aspects of Vance's remarks to Rogan, including his suggestions that an Israeli-funded public relations effort to counter antisemitism among young conservatives was a covert attempt to undermine the Iran deal and his flirtation with conspiracy theories surrounding Jeffrey Epstein. The New York Post suggests these theories, particularly those with antisemitic undertones, are an inappropriate response to any political or negotiation dilemmas Vance might be facing, and states that such rhetoric has no place within the Republican party.