Trump Dismisses Need for Iran Deal After Vance Questioned Election Cost
President Donald Trump publicly ordered Vice President JD Vance on Thursday to step away from Iran war diplomacy and focus on domestic enforcement, issuing the directive in a social media post. The directive came days after Vance blamed the eight-month conflict with Iran for Republicans' sweeping midterm election losses and followed reports that Vance was weighing face-to-face talks with Tehran. Trump used Truth Social to shut down talk of renewed negotiations, and The Associated Press and The Washington Post reported the post on Thursday and Friday. "We don't need a deal with Iran," Trump wrote. "Those days have long since passed. We've got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we've got their Strait!" Trump claimed earlier this week that the war is militarily over and told Vance to concentrate on his domestic anti-fraud campaign. The White House press office confirmed Trump sees no need to negotiate.
Just one day earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported Vance was considering direct talks with Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei. Vance had led an unsuccessful truce effort over the summer, and he publicly questioned the conflict's domestic political toll after Republicans lost both chambers of Congress on November 3.
The British military and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center reported Thursday that projectiles struck two oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday and Wednesday. Several crew members were injured and had to be brought ashore for medical treatment after Tuesday's strike. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged at Group of Seven talks in Paris this week that efforts to rally allied nations to contribute additional naval escorts made no headway.
