Washington DC, July 16 -- US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday (local time) accused "certain elements" within the Israeli government of attempting to influence American public opinion to prolong the conflict with Iran, saying they wanted the war to continue "indefinitely."

In an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, Vance said, "There are some people within their system, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt, who are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely." He added, "Not toward any objective, but just indefinitely."

According to the Wall Street Journal, Vance's remarks mark an escalation in the increasingly public differences between Washington and its closest Middle Eastern ally [...