- Vice President JD Vance defended his Iran negotiations on Joe Rogan’s podcast, arguing that diplomacy, economic pressure and military responses are needed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
- Vance blamed the collapse of a proposed ceasefire memorandum on Iran’s renewed attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and what he called misinformation from critics who opposed the MOU.
- The vice president’s comments have drawn backlash from conservative hawks who argued the failed agreement underestimated Iran’s intentions and behavior.
Vice President JD Vance joined Joe Rogan’s podcast on Wednesday for a winding three-hour conversation. While Vance’s takes on Jeffrey Epstein and Israel are earning him some heat online, their discussion of the war in Iran is earning the vice president the most backlash.
As the U.S. moves to end its monthslong attacks on Iran, President Donald Trump has tasked Vance with leading negotiations.
In June, he flew to Switzerland to move forward a 14-point memorandum of understanding, which would formalize a ceasefire, end the U.S. naval blockade, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide economic incentives for Iran to cooperate.
About a week after the MOU was signed, Iran attacked a ship in the strait, and since then, the countries have slipped back into a steady stream of offenses.
Joe Rogan: Why are the ceasefires constantly broken?
Rogan referenced the continuous back and forth between ceasefires and new attacks in Iran.
For the week following the MOU’s signing, Vance said things were moving swimmingly. The commercial movement of oil through the strait returned to a daily 20 million barrels, and prices were beginning to come down.
Then the “crazy people” running Iran realized they’d lost major leverage points and began to “freak out a little bit,” Vance said.
The issue was compounded by Americans who were misrepresenting his MOU “more than almost anything I’ve ever worked on in public life,” Vance said. Reports emerged that the U.S. was going to give Iran $300 billion for a reconstruction program if a final agreement was signed. Vance said the reports were false.
Meanwhile, Iran began firing at ships in the Strait of Hormuz, so the U.S. resumed firing at Iran.
“If they’re going to shoot at ships, we’re going to shoot at the people who are shooting at the ships or destroy the facilities that they’re using to shoot at ships,” Vance said.
He explained, “What we’re doing is delicate diplomatic dance, where we’re using economic leverage points, we’re using carrots and sticks, we’re talking to the pragmatists, and then of course when they commit acts of violence, we’re responding to it.”
Vance wouldn’t say whether he would handle the situation as Trump is.
“My approach is to try and make it as successful as possible, which is why I’ve poured my heart and soul into these negotiations, which is why I’ve tried to make that goal — Iran not having a nuclear weapon — something that’s not true not just now but in the long term,” he said.
Vance criticizes ‘the hawkish side’ of the GOP
When discussing what he called misinformation surrounding his MOU, Vance told Rogan, “What has really annoyed me about the hawkish side of this thing (the Republican Party) is they attack any effort to negotiate” with Iran.
“The hawks attacked us, misrepresented this and lied about it and said the Trump administration is going to give the Iranians $300 billion. It’s totally fake, it’s completely made up, and it was done purely in order to politically tank the negotiation.”
When Rogan asked Vance what he believes the hawks’ motivations are, he suggested they were influenced by defense contractors.
“What is their proposal?” Rogan asked. “The people who think you shouldn’t negotiate with Iran.”
“I think their proposal is to bomb and bomb and bomb,” Vance responded. “And the honest view, Joe, is that they do not actually have a solution. If you actually ask them what they want us to do, what they want us to achieve, they’ll say things like, ‘We’ll just bomb them to oblivion.’”
Then emerged the criticism
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro described Vance’s takes on the war with Iran as “incredibly ignorant” during his show on Thursday.
“Yesterday I watched Vice President JD Vance on Joe Rogan’s show. Let’s just say I have some concerns,” Shapiro said.
“When faced with the fact that his MOU was just a bad deal, the vice president fell back on conspiracy theorizing about how everyone who opposed him is naturally in the pay of the nefarious Israelis, which is just dummy stuff,” Shapiro said.
He continued, “You know who opposed the MOU? Anyone who had an ounce of brain power with regard to how Iran acts in the Middle East and has been acting for full on half a century.”
“The MOU died because Iran is Iran. And the people who opposed the MOU opposed it because Iran is Iran,” he said.