Washington, The Europe Today: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States does not need a deal with Iran, and directed Vice President JD Vance, who has been involved in efforts to end the war, to give his full attention instead to alleged crime and corruption in Democratic-run cities and states. The Trump Iran deal remarks signal a sharp shift in Washington’s approach to the eight-month conflict.
“We don’t need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed. We’ve got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we’ve got their Strait!” Trump wrote on social media, referring to the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump Iran Deal Stance Follows Reports of Vance Outreach
The president’s directive came a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that Vance was weighing direct peace talks with a senior hard-line Iranian security official, a step that would have placed the vice president at the center of negotiations. The report has not been independently confirmed.
It also came a week after Vance pointed to the costs of the war with Iran as a factor behind the Republican Party’s heavy losses to Democrats in the midterm elections. The vice president also described an earlier recommendation to end the war as “sound advice.” Trump responded to Vance’s position by defending the war as necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
In recent weeks, Trump had suggested that Tehran would be more open to an agreement once the US elections were over. However, his administration signaled this week that it believes its blockade and economic sanctions against Iran are producing results, making neither military escalation nor diplomacy necessary.
Blockade and Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz
The US military is enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports while seeking to secure safe passage for international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy corridors. Iran’s military said on Thursday that four oil tankers were struck by explosions after disregarding Iranian warnings.
Vance’s Role in Iran Diplomacy and Pakistan Talks
Vance, long regarded as skeptical of the war that the United States and Israel launched against Iran in February, led talks with Iranian officials in Pakistan in April. Those talks produced a memorandum of understanding in June that paused the fighting, but the arrangement collapsed within weeks.
Late last month, Iranian state media reported that Tehran had received a letter from Vance seeking a resumption of talks with Washington. Trump said he had not instructed his vice president to make that outreach.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking on Tuesday after talks with US allies in Paris, described Iran’s demands for a possible deal as “absurd,” pointing to its call for war reparations, and said Trump would not accept a bad agreement.
Vance Redirected to Domestic Fraud Effort
In his post, Trump said he had asked Vance to concentrate on a domestic assignment the president had previously placed in his portfolio: leading an effort targeting alleged fraud in Democratic-run cities and states across the country.
“Our Budget could be quickly BALANCED with the correction of this large-scale criminal activity. CORRUPTION is in the Democrat Leadership’s blood!” Trump wrote.
Vance is widely viewed as a leading contender for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination.
