Vance vs. Netanyahu: Strain in U.S.

One month into the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic of Iran, a theocracy soaked with American blood, as well as the viscera of so many Middle Easterners, Europeans, and, indeed, Iranians, U.S. political and military officials have a lot on their plate. But it’s apparently important that we spare a moment or two to contemplate Vice President JD Vance’s internal torment as he executes with soldierly dedication orders with which he seems to disagree.

According to the sources in Vance’s orbit who gave Axios reporters Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo an earful, the VP “is ready to play his part if negotiations” with representatives of the Islamic Republic “ripen,” but he’s not at all pleased to be in that position in the first place. Indeed, Vance is reportedly viscerally frustrated with America’s ally in this war, Israel, for bamboozling the president into what he was gulled into believing would be a quick and triumphant war.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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One month into the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic of Iran, a theocracy soaked with American blood, as well as the viscera of so many Middle Easterners, Europeans, and, indeed, Iranians, U.S. political and military officials have a lot on their plate. But it’s apparently important that we spare a moment or two to contemplate Vice President JD Vance’s internal torment as he executes with soldierly dedication orders with which he seems to disagree.

According to the sources in Vance’s orbit who gave Axios reporters Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo an earful, the VP “is ready to play his part if negotiations” with representatives of the Islamic Republic “ripen,” but he’s not at all pleased to be in that position in the first place. Indeed, Vance is reportedly viscerally frustrated with America’s ally in this war, Israel, for bamboozling the president into what he was gulled into believing would be a quick and triumphant war.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.