Vice President JD Vance argued Friday that the United States stands to benefit regardless of whether a final peace agreement with Iran is reached, insisting that America’s strategic position has already improved significantly.
Speaking during an appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Vance said Iran’s weakened military and damaged nuclear infrastructure have already shifted the balance in America’s favor.
“If we don’t make the final deal, their nuclear program is still destroyed, they’re still much weaker as a country,” Vance said. “So my attitude is America wins either way.”
The vice president explained that President Donald Trump directed negotiators to pursue an approach unlike any previous administration had attempted during decades of tension with Tehran.
“What the president has asked us to do is offer them an opportunity to fundamentally transform how they behave with the West,” Vance said.
He argued that the administration is willing to pursue a dramatically different relationship with Iran if the country’s leadership abandons its support for regional instability and long-term nuclear ambitions.
“If they’re willing to change, we’re willing to change too,” Vance said. “If they’re not willing to change, we still fundamentally have all the cards. I think it’s a good place for us to be.”
Vance traveled to Switzerland last weekend for direct talks with Iranian officials in negotiations mediated by representatives from Pakistan and Qatar. The discussions marked the first round of talks under the recently signed memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran.
During meetings with Iranian negotiators, Vance emphasized that the administration’s objective is not merely ending the current conflict but reshaping relations between the two countries.
“What the president has asked us to do is turn over a new leaf, to transform our relationship with the people of Iran, and to extend an outstretched hand,” Vance said during the negotiations.
He added that the United States is prepared to fundamentally alter its relationship with Iran if its leadership abandons nuclear weapons ambitions and ceases supporting instability throughout the Middle East.
The negotiations stem from the memorandum of understanding signed by President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that halted hostilities and established a 60-day window for talks aimed at permanently ending Iran’s nuclear program.
However, tensions resurfaced Friday after President Trump accused Iran of violating the ceasefire agreement when an Iranian drone struck the Singapore-flagged cargo ship M/V Ever Lovely in the Strait of Hormuz.
The attack followed Iranian warnings for commercial vessels to avoid a newly approved US-backed shipping route along the Omani coast and instead use routes preferred by Tehran.
Following the incident, American forces launched strikes against Iranian drone facilities and coastal radar installations in what officials described as a direct response to the ceasefire violation.
Iran later claimed it had retaliated against targets connected to the United States, though officials in Tehran did not specify what had been targeted.
Vance responded forcefully to the developments, warning that further aggression would receive an immediate response.
“Iran signed a cease-fire agreement. We have honored it,” the vice president wrote on social media. “If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence.”
The post JD Vance Says America ‘Wins Either Way’ in Iran Negotiations appeared first on Real News Now.
About Author
