Netanyahu rejects JD Vance's 'only ally' claim, says Israel has 'tremendous support' in India

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back against comments from US Vice President JD Vance, who recently claimed that Washington is Israel’s "only powerful ally" left in the world.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu rubbished the notion that Israel is diplomatically isolated, explicitly pointing to India and its 1.4 billion people as a prime example of Israel's robust global backing.

"I respect JD Vance, and we have a very good relationship, but it doesn't mean that I agree with everything that he says," Netanyahu stated. He then added, "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."

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Vance's warning to Israeli Cabinet

The diplomatic exchange follows blunt comments made by Vice President Vance at a White House briefing, where he defended the Trump administration's recent diplomatic outreach and memorandum of understanding to end hostilities with Iran.

Amid public criticism from certain right-wing members of Netanyahu’s cabinet regarding the US-Iran peace talks, Vance had warned Israeli officials against alienating Washington, noting that two-thirds of Israel's defensive weapons are American-made and funded by US taxpayers.

"Donald J Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time," Vance had declared. "If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world. ... You can't just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have."

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Netanyahu points to Israel's global reach

While Netanyahu took care to reaffirm his strong alignment with the White House, reiterating that Donald Trump is "the greatest friend we ever had in the White House," he firmly rejected the premise that Jerusalem lacks other significant partnerships.

Aside from mentioning the overwhelming public support he sees from Indian citizens on digital platforms like Facebook, Netanyahu revealed that many world leaders maintain strong, pragmatic relationships with Israel behind closed doors, irrespective of domestic public opinion.

"So the relations are not quite as they appear, and we have many, many friends," Netanyahu concluded.

While Israel and the US remain deeply intertwined militarily, friction has emerged over the Trump administration's broader West Asia strategy, particularly concerning regional peace negotiations with Tehran and Israeli military maneuvers along the Lebanese border.

Conversely, ties between India and Israel have grown increasingly visible. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel earlier this year, where he referred to Netanyahu as a "personal friend" and reaffirmed that India stands firmly with Israel.