Vance Vs Rubio: Is Team Trump divided on Iran and Lebanon?

The White House has denied a split between Vance and Rubio, who have historically held diverging foreign policy positions.

Rubio's diplomatic push in the Gulf: US secretary of state reassures GCC allies on Iran

As US President Donald Trump faced backlash, especially from pro-Israel politicians and advocates, for signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Iran, his deputy, JD Vance, went on a media blitz defending the agreement to end the months-long war.

Vice President Vance hailed “good progress”, adding that a “very good foundation” has been set for a successful final deal with Iran.⁠ The two sides have 60 days to conclude a final deal.

Vance, who led the talks with Iran in Switzerland, used tough language against Israel over the latter’s public opposition to the MoU.

“You’re a country of nine million people. You can’t just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have,” he said, referring to Israeli tactics of using military force to solve its issues.

Unlike Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio avoided openly criticising Israel, America’s closest ally, and instead railed against the Iranian government.

Last week, he travelled to the Middle East to reassure Washington’s Gulf allies, who were attacked by Tehran during the course of the war.

“International waterways [Strait of Hormuz] do not belong to any nation-state,” Rubio declared in Bahrain on June 25.

Days later, the United States and Iran were engaged in three days of tit-for-tat strikes – the first since the MoU was signed on June 17 – over the control of the Strait of Hormuz, a global energy chokepoint.

The two sides are expected to hold technical talks to defuse the tensions over the strait through which a fifth of global energy supplies passes.

The White House vigorously denied any divergence between the two officials.

In this explainer, we unpack what Vance and Rubio have said, where there are differences, and why it matters.

Both Vance and Rubio were dispatched on high-profile trips abroad over the past week to defend the MoU inked between Washington and Tehran.

Their statements to the media during these trips have slightly diverged from each other.

Speaking at the White House last week, Vance suggested that Israeli bombings of civilian infrastructure in Beirut were undermining US-led peace efforts.

Even President Trump has criticised Israel for targeting civilian buildings. “You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they’