Washington cannot allow its Middle East policy to be subservient to Israel: JD Vance

US Vice President JD Vance has said that Washington cannot allow its "Middle East policy to be subordinated to Israel" and must put US interests first.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the All In podcast on Tuesday, Vance described Israel as a key US partner in military technology and intelligence sharing, but said the two governments do not agree on every issue.
He said that President Donald Trump has shown a willingness to disagree with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he feels that American and Israeli interests diverge.
Vance, using Netanyahu's nickname "Bibi," said, "I think he has been more willing than almost any president in the last 40 years to disagree with Bibi Netanyahu when he feels that the interests of the American people are different from those of the Israeli government."
Vance said Trump has been willing to admit that Netanyahu may be right from Israel's point of view, but that it may be necessary for the United States to take a different approach.
He said, "Building all relations, including this one, on the basis of American interest is the only way to have a realistic discussion on this issue."
Citing the example of Washington's relationship with NATO, he said that although the United States has important partnerships with its European allies, it does not mean that American foreign policy should be subservient to this alliance.
"We're going to work with somebody, we're going to disagree when we disagree, and we're going to advance America's interests," Vance said. This is the only way to have a realistic foreign policy.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu remains strong.
In an interview with Ynet published Wednesday, Huckabee said the two countries are cooperating very closely and hinted that their cooperation is much more extensive than has been publicly reported.
Regarding the decline in support for Israel in the United States, Huckabee attributed this to what he called misinformation.
"When we partner against Iran, we're not defending Israel, we're defending America," Huckabee said, referring to long-standing "Death to America" ​​slogans from Iran. "Israel may be the initial precursor, but we are the real target," Huckabee said.
Huckabee rejected claims that Israel pushed Trump to go to war with Iran and said the president made the decision freely. He said he made the decision of his own free will. Asked if the U.S. would go to war with Iran or any other power to protect Israel from an existential threat, Huckabee said the president would act if it was in America's best interest. But that is what he is required to do. He also spoke about extremist settler violence in the West Bank, which he has condemned before. Huckabee emphasized that he does not believe that those responsible for such incidents represent the entire settler community.
"I have never attributed all these actions to settlers," he said. In fact, I say it is not the settlers but the 'un-settlers'.