Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly countered US Vice-President JD Vance’s assertion that the United States is Israel’s sole remaining powerful ally, pointing instead to India and to what he described as private overtures from other governments. In a Fox News interview on 6 July, Netanyahu said he respected Vance but disagreed with his assessment, calling President Donald Trump “the greatest friend we ever had in the White House” before adding: “We have some other friends, like a small country called India. You know it has 1.4 billion people, and boy, do we have tremendous support there.” He claimed that many leaders contact him privately to propose deals and to seek Israeli military, artificial-intelligence and cyber expertise, and that Israel’s international relationships are “not quite as they appear.”

The exchange follows weeks of open tension between Washington and Tel Aviv over a US-brokered memorandum of understanding with Iran. According to US officials, the MOU provides sanctions relief and the unfreezing of Iranian funds in American financial systems, while the White House has begun allowing Iranian oil and gas sales under sanction waivers and Iran has reopened the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration insists no financial incentives will flow until Iran begins complying and negotiates the acquisition and destruction of its remaining enriched nuclear materials. At a June press briefing, Vance warned Israeli ministers against criticising the deal, stating that Trump was “the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time” and that Israel could not “just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem.” Axios reported that Trump, in a phone call, called Netanyahu “crazy” and accused him of ingratitude over Israeli actions in Lebanon that threatened the MOU.

Viewed from Tel Aviv, Netanyahu’s invocation of India serves to demonstrate that Israel retains strategic depth beyond its alliance with Washington. Israeli officials have not denied the reported acrimony but have confirmed that Netanyahu requested a White House meeting, which Trump said could take place after the NATO summit in Turkey. The prime minister’s remarks also highlighted Israel’s self-portrayal as a technology leader – “the number two country in cyber in the world” – and suggested that public criticism in some international media does not reflect the full scope of bilateral ties. India has deepened defence and technology cooperation with Israel in recent years, though New Delhi has not commented on the latest exchange.

The public disagreement unfolds as Israel prepares for October elections and as the Iran MOU reshapes regional dynamics. Critics in the US Congress, including Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, argue that the agreement has yielded little more than a resumption of the status quo while Iran reaps economic benefits. The White House meeting, expected in the coming weeks, will test whether the two leaders can manage their differences over Iran and Lebanon while preserving a relationship both sides describe as close. For now, the dossier remains tense, with each government publicly signalling its own red lines while maintaining private channels of communication.