US Vice President JD Vance privately accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being "wrong on everything" about the Iran war, according to a report by Axios, exposing a split inside the Trump administration over whether to resume military strikes.

This report follows Vance's public statement this week blaming the Iran war for the Republicans' midterm defeat, reported separately by The Daily Byte. The private criticism, reported by Axios, comes after Republicans lost both chambers in Tuesday's midterms.

A private criticism, a public blame

According to Axios, citing sources familiar with the discussions, Vance repeatedly urged President Donald Trump to negotiate an end to the conflict rather than resume strikes, warning the war was deeply unpopular and could cost Republicans at the polls.

"The reason we lost is the war," Vance wrote on Wednesday on X. Trump told The Wall Street Journal that "Iran was a piece of it" but that he did not regret the war and "would have done it again".

Axios also reported that Netanyahu had urged Trump to resume military strikes against Iran before the midterms, despite warnings from senior American officials.

A divided administration

The Wall Street Journal reported tensions inside the administration had intensified, with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth favouring a continuation of the campaign while Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials pushed for negotiations.

Vance has led efforts to end the conflict. Last month he sent a letter through Qatari intermediaries to Mohsen Rezaei, a senior Iranian official, proposing renewed peace negotiations. According to Axios, the letter said talks must address Iran's nuclear programme, and Trump backed the outreach.

The White House has not announced a final decision. Axios said Trump faces three options: resuming major strikes, negotiating an agreement, or keeping the naval blockade and sanctions while seeking concessions.

Sources: Axios, Trump, Iran war, midterm defeat, bad options, 5 November 2026; Fox News, Vance privately blasts Netanyahu, Iran war divides Trump admin, 5 November 2026; The Times, Trump, impeachment, midterm elections, Democrats, House, 6 November 2026; GITFiC, Trump administration divided over Iran war as Vance privately criticizes Netanyahu, 5 November 2026.