US Vice President JD Vance said Monday that he believes Israel will become a party to the emerging US-Iran deal at some point in the future, ahead of a new round of nuclear talks slated to begin on Friday after a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran is formally signed.

Amid a blitz of TV interviews, Vance told NBC: “What we know is this agreement is going to make Israel safer; it’s going to make the entire region safer.”

“What I’ve seen is a lot of misinformation about this agreement — sometimes in the Iranian media, sometimes in the Israeli media,” he continued.

“We believe quite firmly that when the Israeli people understand what’s in this agreement, they’re going to see this as a pathway to a new Middle East, to peace and prosperity in that region,” he asserted.

“That’s all we can really ask for. We feel quite confident the Israelis are going to be bought in on this when we get a little further down the road.”

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington and Tehran had signed a memorandum of understanding to extend their ongoing ceasefire by 60 days and open the Strait of Hormuz, while holding negotiations on a long-term resolution to the conflict over Iran’s nuclear program.

The MOU, already signed digitally, is set to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday.

That same day, Iran and the US will start a new round of negotiations to reach a final agreement, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

According to Axios, Trump aides Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will attend the meetings alongside Vance, as will Araghchi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Ghaber Ghalibaf.

Announcing the talks, Araghchi warned that any Israeli attack on Lebanon or continued presence in Lebanese territory would constitute a violation of the interim agreement with the United States.

Israeli troops are currently stationed deep within southern Lebanon, and the Israeli military has struck targets throughout the country, ever since the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group attacked Israel on March 2 in support of Tehran.

Araghchi said Tuesday: “In our view, the two parties to this memorandum are the US and Israel on one side, and Iran and Hezbollah on the other.”

During a press conference on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that Israel is not a party to the memorandum of understanding and does not yet know the full details of the agreement.

Opposition figures in Israel — as well as some ministers in Netanyahu’s own government — have lambasted the premier over the US deal, calling it a diplomatic failure and a danger to Israel’s security, in part because of concerns it will hamper Israel’s efforts in Lebanon.

In his press........

© The Times of Israel