US Vice-President JD Vance said on Friday that the United States holds all the cards in negotiations with Iran and will emerge victorious regardless of the outcome, pointing to what he described as the destruction of Iran's nuclear program and its diminished status as a nation. Appearing on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Vance stated, 'If we make the final deal, then great. If we don't make the final deal, their nuclear program is still destroyed. They're still much weaker as a country, so my attitude is America wins either way.'
Escalation in the Strait of Hormuz
Vance's appearance came hours before reports emerged of a tanker being struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, followed by the US and Iran each launching military strikes in the worst escalation since an interim peace deal was signed. Washington confirmed it hit Iranian targets overnight, while Iran retaliated by striking targets linked to US forces on Saturday. The attack on the tanker followed a similar incident on Thursday that triggered the hostilities. Vance acknowledged that the ceasefire deal, a 60-day memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, 'is always going to be a little messy when you're dealing with the Iranians.'
Negotiations and Nuclear Program
Vance, who was promoting his new memoir Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, said his negotiations with an Iranian delegation in Lucerne, Switzerland, have been successful because oil prices have dropped to $73 a barrel and Iran's nuclear program was 'functionally destroyed.' He specifically referenced Iran's ability to enrich uranium. However, critics of the MOU argue that the Trump administration is negotiating from a weak position, as Iran still possesses a stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium that, while possibly inaccessible, remains within the country. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), noted on Friday that reducing Iran's stockpile or transferring it abroad remains a viable option as the US and Iran pursue a comprehensive agreement.
Vance Defends Claims
When pressed by Maher on whether Iran's nuclear program is truly destroyed, Vance retorted, 'What part of it is not destroyed? The thing that you have to destroy is their ability to enrich uranium, which has been destroyed.' He also extended an olive branch, stating, 'If they are willing to give up nuclear weapons ambitions for the long term, then the United States is willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with that country. If they're willing to change, we're willing to change too; if they're not willing to change, we still fundamentally have all the cards and I think that's a good place to be.'
Nixon Defense and Immigration Policy
Earlier in the week, Vance visited the Richard Nixon presidential library in California, where he defended the former president's legacy, particularly regarding Watergate. 'If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story. Like, the idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy,' Vance said. On Real Time, he sidestepped Maher's suggestion that the administration's immigration enforcement policies had gone too far, responding, 'You can't do a law enforcement operation like that without having some situations that are recorded like that. I don't think there was an easy way to do this.'
