Vice President JD Vance became the face of the administration’s deal with Iran.
Wednesday’s strikes put that agreement in serious jeopardy, even as President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that Tehran wants to “make a deal.”
Vance has been in wait-and-see mode, focusing on domestic priorities while Trump and the military take point on the conflict.
Vance wasn’t blindsided by the return to hostilities; one Vance ally noted that the vice president has always been clear-eyed about the challenge of trying to come to an agreement with the Iranian government. “If you shoot at ships, we are going to punch back,” Vance said on Wednesday during a trip focused on anti-fraud efforts.
And Vance’s allies aren’t worried about the breakdown of peace talks looking like a failure on his part — Vance’s orbit has always believed that voters will prefer an attempt at peace, even if it fails.