Trump: America Holds the Leverage on Iran, No Deal Needed; Vance Turns to the Fraud Fight

President Trump said Thursday that the United States no longer needs a negotiated deal with Iran, and he asked Vice President JD Vance to turn his full attention from the diplomatic track to rooting out corruption and crime in Democrat-run cities and states ^[1][3].

"We don't need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed," the President wrote on Truth Social, according to The Times of Israel ^[1]. His reasoning was leverage. "We've got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we've got their Strait!" he wrote, as quoted by The Daily Caller ^[3], a reference to Iranian funds and to the Strait of Hormuz.

From Tehran to the home front

In the same post, the President named Minnesota, California and Illinois among the places he wants Vance to focus on, calling Democrat-led states "poorly run, corrupt disasters," Newsweek reported ^[2]. "Billions of Dollars is being stolen each and every month," he wrote, according to The Epoch Times ^[4]. He added that the federal budget could be balanced quickly if large-scale criminal activity were corrected, The Times of Israel reported ^[1].

The post did not point to specific new cases or figures, Newsweek noted ^[2]. But the assignment builds on work Vance already leads. He has run the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud since it was set up in March ^[3][4]. In August, Vance said the government had identified roughly $230 billion in fraud and stopped $56 billion in fraudulent payments, The Epoch Times reported ^[4]. Newsweek pointed to one well-known case: about $250 million allegedly stolen from a children's nutrition program in a major Minnesota fraud investigation ^[2].

Where the Iran talks stood

Vance had been one of the administration's lead negotiators with Tehran, alongside Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, The Daily Caller reported ^[3]. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that he was weighing face-to-face talks with a senior Iranian security official, and that the President had told aides he was open to the idea, according to The Times of Israel ^[1].

The war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes in late February, after which Tehran choked off the Strait of Hormuz and energy prices climbed ^[1]. The United States has kept a military blockade in place, and Iran has attacked or threatened tankers trying to cross the strait ^[4]. On Thursday, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that two tankers came to a halt there after an explosion, The Epoch Times reported ^[4]. On Monday, the President said further U.S. military action was unlikely and described Iran's military forces as effectively finished ^[4]. At Arlington on Veterans Day, he said he wants a total victory, not a partial one ^[1].

Oil prices rose after Thursday's remarks and Wall Street futures slipped, The Times of Israel reported ^[1].

How the coverage framed it

Some outlets framed the move as Vance being pulled off the Iran file. The Guardian's headline said the President ordered Vance to stop negotiating ^[5], and The Independent tied the decision to Vance's public comments, days earlier, blaming the war for the party's midterm losses ^[6]. The Times of Israel described it as a shift in Vance's focus ^[1]. After last week's midterms, in which Democrats won control of Congress, Vance questioned whether the war had been worth its cost ^[4][1].

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Neither Vance nor Tehran had responded publicly to the post in the coverage we reviewed. We will update this story as the White House, Congress and Iran weigh in.