Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back in an interview with Fox News on Sunday against US Vice President JD Vance’s recent claim that US President Donald Trump is Israel’s only ally, insisting that Jerusalem still has “many friends” around the world, while still highlighting its unique relationship with Washington.

Netanyahu also took the opportunity to reiterate that he and Trump share the same goals when it comes to Iran, but stressed that even if Washington doesn’t reach a nuclear deal with Tehran, he will ensure that it never obtains a nuclear weapon so long as he is prime minister.

The premier was questioned during the interview about public disagreements between Washington and Jerusalem over the memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran to end the war that began on February 28.

Israel was not a party to the agreement and is not involved in the resulting negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, but was nevertheless required by it to halt its fight against the Islamic Republic. Israeli officials have made their displeasure over the terms of the agreement known, and Netanyahu said last week that he would dispatch a delegation to Washington to discuss the MOU.

Nevertheless, he insisted to Fox News that he and Trump “are set on the same goal.”

“We want to see Iran give up its nuclear weapons program. We want to see the nuclear-enriched material removed. We want to see the enrichment sites for nuclear material dismantled. We have other common objectives,” he said.

“President Trump believes that after the battering that the two of us — Israel and the United States — gave to Iran, he thinks that he can generate enough leeway, enough pressure, through the negotiations to get these goals achieved. And, you know, we respect that, and I hope he succeeds,” Netanyahu continued, before adding, “I can tell you this: Deal or no deal, as long as I’m prime minister, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”

He declined to comment on criticism from his supporters who have argued that the MOU leaves the Iranian regime intact and poised to recover, saying that the negotiations between Tehran and Washington are “not over,” and he will only pass judgment once they are.

“Believe me, if I have things that I want to point out in my own opinions, I do so in a free way. And when he has things he wants to tell me, he does that in a free way too. That’s what friends and allies do with each other,” Netanyahu added, again highlighting what he said was his close relationship with the US president.

“The most important thing is that we have a common goal. And that means Iran does not have nuclear weapons or the capacity to make nuclear weapons,” he said, adding that the world was “very lucky” that Trump is “leading the free world in this common effort.”

The prime minister was keen........

© The Times of Israel