Vice President J.D. Vance on Thursday defended President Donald Trump’s interim peace deal, arguing that the United States has not paid any money to the Islamic Republic and that Iran’s economic interests depend on full compliance with the deal.
“The United States is not giving Iran a penny,” Vance said.
His comments come as the White House faces Republican backlash over whether President Trump has given too much to Iran with the 14-point memorandum, which includes sanctions relief, access to frozen funds and a proposed $300 billion recovery plan.
“The only way the Iranians will get access to these resources…is if they fully comply with the terms of the agreement.”
Mr. Vance pushed back against criticism that lifting sanctions amounted to significant concessions.
“The bottleneck for Iranian oil was never the sanctions. We didn’t see them as major concessions to the Iranians,” Vance said.
Vance argued that Iran was already selling oil despite U.S. sanctions and that they were “fundamentally ineffective” at the time of the deal. He said lifting sanctions could actually give the United States more visibility into Iran’s financial activities.
“By lifting the sanctions, we can actually learn a little bit more about where their financial system is actually sending and receiving money,” Vance said. “It’s a real benefit to the American people.”
Vance added that Iran’s “nuclear program has been completely destroyed,” and cast the deal not as a concession to Tehran but as the next step in President Trump’s pressure campaign.
“We are now looking to see if they are willing to follow the next steps in the president’s peace plan,” Vance said.
The deal, signed by President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, ends military operations for the time being, reopens the Strait of Hormuz for at least 60 days, and opens a window for negotiations toward a final agreement. Vance said a 60-day period that could be extended began Thursday.
Vance argued that if Iran abides by the deal, the region could be reshaped.
“If they change their behavior, it will completely change their relationship with the Middle East,” Vance said.
Vance said lawmakers expected to receive an official copy of the signed document Thursday morning or later in the day. He said the administration is planning a formal briefing for Congress “in the near future.”
But Vance said the administration is “quite confident” it can temporarily lift some sanctions without Congressional approval.
Since the peace deal was announced, there have been bipartisan warnings that Iran risks retribution after months of war.
“Donald Trump thinks the Iranian regime will be willing to give up all of this enriched uranium. I think he’s making the wrong bet,” Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said Thursday.
Warner continued: “Please accept the reports about Secretary Rubio and Secretary Ratcliffe’s comments. Please accept the comments from our Republican friends about this. This will go down as one of the worst follies of Mr. Trump’s term, certainly the worst international folly.”
Nikki Haley, Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, said in a social media post Wednesday that attacking Iran’s nuclear and missile facilities was the “right thing to do,” but added: “Paying to rebuild the threat we just destroyed would be a huge mistake.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) questioned whether the reconstruction plan amounted to giving money to Iranian leaders.
“Giving $300 billion to the Ayatollah of Iran?” Cruz asked on the podcast. “I hope not. I hope not.”
