Trump news at a glance: Vance uses US weaponry barbs to scold Israeli critics of Iran deal
Vice-president says Israeli cabinet members shouldn’t attack the country’s ‘only powerful ally’ left; Iran says it will impose fees on strait of Hormuz – key US politics stories from Thursday 18 June
Trump news at a glance: Vance uses US weaponry barbs to scold Israeli critics of Iran deal
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JD Vance has sharply rebuked Israeli government critics of the US deal with Iran, saying the cabinet members should remember that two-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected Israel “have been built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars”.
The US vice-president, asked about a report that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was fuming over the agreement, told reporters at the White House: “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.”
The US provides Israel about $4bn in military assistance a year.
Iran, meanwhile, announced plans to introduce a system of maritime fees in the strait of Hormuz in two months, after the 60-day period of negotiation that has been triggered by the signing of the memorandum of understanding.
Vance tells Iran deal critics in Israel: Trump is your only ally
Vance said while lashing out at Israeli critics of the US-Iran deal that Trump was Israel’s only ally left in the world.
“The problem for Israel is not Donald J Trump, and anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in,” the US vice-president said.
He was defending the deal signed this week to end the war with Iran that critics in the US and Israel have denounced for failing to curb Iran’s missile program and providing no clear path to dismantling its nuclear facilities, while constraining Israel in its war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Iran plans to impose fees on strait of Hormuz after 60 days
Tehran has said the Hormuz strait is under its control and that a European plan for a naval mission to escort ships though the waterway would not be welcome.
The warning came as Iran – claiming a historic victory over the US – announced plans to introduce fees for passing the vital energy route after the 60-day negotiating period with the US under their agreement.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu reportedly said Israeli would maintain a “security zone” in southern Lebanon for as long as needed, while Trump said the US expected “a complete ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Israel”.
Washington quietly shifts $352m in federal funds for White House ballroom
The Trump administration has quietly redirected $352m in federal funds designated for the Secret Service toward the president’s controversial White House ballroom project, despite repeated promises by Trump that the construction would be financed by private donations.
Fed’s Cook faced $1.3m in legal and security fees after Trump bid to fire her
The Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook faced more than $1.3m in legal and security fees after coming under attack from the Trump administration, according to ethics disclosures filed on Wednesday.
The White House targeted Cook last summer as Trump ramped up his unprecedented campaign to push the Fed to cut interest rates.
Trump team compares reflecting pool algae battle to Iran war
US federal government workers continue to take on the green hue that has swept across Washington’s reflecting pool, an increasingly fiendish battle the Trump administration compared to its war with Iran.
After Trump ordered a $14.2m refurbishment to turn the monument to “American Flag blue” in time for the country’s 250th birthday celebrations, the administration encountered a formidable foe: algae.
The supreme court has sided with a Texas marijuana user who wants to legally own a gun, the latest in a line of firearm cases from a court that has expanded gun rights.
Democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George is slated to be the next mayor of Washington DC after her opponent conceded. Lewis George, a city council member, ran on a platform of expanding childcare, education and housing, and revoking the district’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Pete Hegseth has announced a review of the US military presence across Europe, in a combative address to Nato allies where he threatened to cut force numbers in countries spending the least on defence.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 17 June 2026.
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