Netanyahu cites India support to counter J D Vance's only ally remark

Washington,UPDATED: Jul 5, 2026 23:38 IST

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cited support from India while pushing back against American Vice President J D Vance's recent remark that the US was Israel's only powerful ally "anywhere left in the entire world". In an interview with 'Fox News Sunday Briefing', Netanyahu said Israel had the backing of many countries, including India.

Referring to India, Netanyahu said, "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." He also said he was receiving strong support from India on Facebook.

Last month, Vance told a White House briefing that Israel should respect the US-Iran peace talks. Asked about reports that Israeli leaders were unhappy with the US-Iran agreement and were criticising President Trump, Vance said, "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."

Netanyahu rejected that claim and said Israel had "many, many friends". He added, "You know, I have this Facebook thing, and I have overwhelming support there. I may have many others." He said several countries were interested in working with Israel and seeking help from its cyber experts.

"Many leaders, you know, call me up and say, 'Hey, look, I've got this problem with public opinion, but I want you to know we respect you, and can we make some deals, and can you teach us some of the things that your military does, and can we have some of your AI and cyber expertise?'" Netanyahu said. "Israel is the number two country in cyber in the world, and our technology is so good. So the relations are not quite as they appear," he added. The remarks were part of Netanyahu's response to Vance's comment, with the Israeli leader saying Israel had support from India and several other countries.

With PTI Inputs

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