Vance defends Iran strategy amid peace negotiations: ‘America wins either way’

Administration Vance defends Iran strategy amid peace negotiations: ‘America wins either way’ Comments: by Finya Swai - 06/27/26 11:55 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Finya Swai - 06/27/26 11:55 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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Vice President Vance stood by the administration’s Iran strategy Friday, saying the U.S. will come out on top regardless of whether peace negotiations with Tehran produce a deal.

“If we make the final deal, then great. If we don’t make the deal, their nuclear program is still destroyed. They’re still much weaker as a country,” Vance told comedian Bill Maher,

He added, “So my attitude is, America wins either way.”

His comments come amid a fresh exchange of strikes between the U.S. military and Iran, which threatens to derail the ongoing talks over the 14-point memorandum of understanding (MOU) and a fragile ceasefire already in place.

On Friday, the U.S. military struck Iranian missile and drone storage sites, as well as coastal radar locations in response to an Iranian attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Hours later, Iran launched retaliatory drone strikes against Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

Maher pressed Vance on whether the most recent talks with the Islamic Republic to bring an end to the nearly four-month-long war were different from prior failed diplomatic efforts.

The vice president pointed to decreasing oil prices and the renewed flow of shipping through the strait, which carries roughly a fifth of the global oil supply, as evidence that the administration’s current approach is working.

“If you look at oil right now, it’s back down to $73 a barrel, got up to $126 a barrel,” he said. “So, there’s a signal that there’s something real going on here.”

Vance said the MOU, signed by Trump and the regime, centers on keeping the Strait of Hormuz open for maritime shipping and allowing oil to flow while maintaining a ceasefire.

But, he conceded, the ceasefire “is always going to be a little messy when you’re dealing with the Iranians.”

The latest tit-for-tat strikes also raise questions about the durability of the temporary deal, which established a 60-day truce and looks to bring an end to hostilities and reopen talks on the Middle East nation’s nuclear program.

Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Obama-era nuclear deal, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in 2018 during his first term.