Trump Sidelining Vance: ‘We Don’t Need a Deal’ With Iran

Strait of Hormuz tensions unfolded as President Donald Trump directed Vice President JD Vance to focus on domestic politics instead of negotiations, declaring that Washington no longer needs an agreement with Tehran.

The announcement effectively normalizes a stalemate with Iran following Republican losses in the midterm elections, according to reports. Trump wrote on social media that he instructed Vance to direct his complete attention toward crime and corruption in Democratic-run cities and states.

“CORRUPTION is in the Democrat Leadership’s ​blood!” Trump wrote on Thursday.

“We don’t need a deal with Iran,” Trump wrote, according to CNN. “Those days have long since passed! We’ve got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we’ve got their Strait!”

Vance had previously led negotiations and recently sought renewed talks with Iranian officials. In a letter sent from Mr. Vance via Qatari meditators to Gen.

Political Fallout From The Iran War

On November 4, Vance wrote on X that the war caused the party’s midterm defeats, according to Al Jazeera. “The reason we lost is the war,” Vance said after the midterms in a lengthy post on X.

Trump agreed that rising fuel prices from the conflict damaged Republicans at the ballot box. However, Trump argued that Vance should have defended the war as necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to Yahoo News Malaysia.

Attacks and Military Stance in The Gulf

Hours before Trump’s social media posts, Iran claimed it hit a United States military early warning radar system in Bahrain in retaliation for an air attack in Sirik, Al Jazeera reported. Maritime authorities report that at least 12 commercial tankers have been struck by naval mines or Iranian military fire over the past twelve days.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration’s economic pressure campaign is proving effective, rendering large-scale military operations unnecessary. Meanwhile, Central Command said that it has assisted at least 4,000 ships in crossing the Strait of Hormuz, carrying over 1.7 billion barrels of crude oil.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told Al Jazeera that Tehran submitted a seven-point ceasefire proposal through Qatari mediators. The conditions include lifting economic sanctions, ending the naval blockade, releasing frozen funds, and announcing an explicit end to the war.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ghalibaf said this week that “there are no ‘free waters’ [international waters] there, and the 1982 [UN Convention on the Law of the Sea] does not apply” to the Strait of Hormuz.

Regional Tensions Remain Stuck in No War No Peace

“We are still in a situation which is ‘no war, no peace’, and it’s unlikely to move for the time being,” Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, an associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank, told Al Jazeera.

Trump said that regional allies including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain asked him to hold off on renewed large-scale attacks. It remains unclear whether Washington will formally respond to Tehran’s ceasefire conditions or if maritime insurers will continue to shun traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The president told CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday that he was “not looking” to escalate the war.

On Monday, Trump told reporters in the White House briefing room: “At this point, it won’t be necessary, taking the military action.” During the same interview, Trump said he would “absolutely” consider it “a defeat” if he left the White House and the “Iran crazies” were still in power. And it’s possible I would do it right now, he noted regarding potential military action.

Reuters has not confirmed the potential talks. “The Gulf countries are not necessarily endorsing this as a new normal, even if they prefer this to the prospect of a renewed war,” regional analysts noted.

“The ball is now in the American court,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told Al Jazeera.