Vice President JD Vance on Thursday responded to claims that America’s newly released preliminary peace deal, called a memorandum of understanding, was too generous toward the Islamic Republic.
“The part of this MOU that I think has been most misrepresented by certain parts of the media is the idea that the Iranians get all these benefits,” Vance said in his opening remarks during a news conference. “The simple fact is that the only way the Iranians get any of those resources… is if they comply fully and change their behavior.”
Vance maintained what President Donald Trump and other administration officials have said: The American military campaign accomplished its goals and has left Iran weak and fully at the mercy of the U.S. if it should decide to violate any of its agreements.
“If the Iranians don’t change their behavior, their military and their nuclear program are still destroyed. If they do change their behavior, then they are going to have a transformative relationship with the Middle East, and the Middle East will have a transformative relationship with the people of Iran,” Vance said. “That’s a win for the American people, and for the president of the United States, regardless of which option the Iranians ultimately choose.”
The 14-point memorandum lays out a loose timeline for reaching a longer-term, United Nations-backed peace deal as well as terms for the interim. While it declares an end to the hostilities and requires the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, it also requires the removal of the U.S. naval blockade, the temporary waiving of American sanctions on Iranian oil, and allows Iran to maintain the “current status quo” of its nuclear program until the final deal is reached. It also calls for $300 billion of investment to rebuild Iranian infrastructure and help the country recover, seems to leave open the possibility of future tolls in the strait and calls on the U.S. to work on ending “all types of sanctions against the Islamic Republic… in an agreed upon schedule as part of the final deal.”
Vance said that the waiving of sanctions isn’t as significant an action as some think. The U.S. has imposed economic sanctions of some kind on Iran for decades. The sanctions had become “fundamentally ineffective,” and the removal of the blockade was more consequential, according to Vance.
“What the sanctions did do is move the Iranian financial system to sort of the shadow banking system, so by lifting the blockade – that’s the significant thing that has changed – and by lifting the sanctions, we’re actually going to be able to see a little bit where their financial system actually sends money and receives money,” Vance said. “That’s a real benefit to the American people, and that’s really the only thing that has changed by the change in sanctions.”
The memorandum says that sanctions termination is of “critical importance” and both parties pledge to “immediately address these issues in negotiations.”
The memorandum does not stipulate where the $300 billion of investment will come from, but Vance reaffirmed what some others said Thursday that “not a single penny… from the United States under any circumstances.”
The vice president also said that the memorandum doesn’t really leave the possibility of tolls on the table, even though it appears to leave that decision up to the Iranians, the Omanis and the Gulf Coast Coalition there. But none of those groups want tolls, according to Vance, and the U.S. will “ensure that that is reflected in the final deal.”
“If that’s not reflected in the final deal, there’s not going to be a final deal,” Vance said. “We have all the cards.”
