Iran diplomacy halted as Trump orders Vance to drop work on deal, focus on finding corruption

Vance’s Iran role ends

Trump said Vance should leave negotiations with Iran and devote his attention to alleged wrongdoing in Democratic-led places. In a post, Trump said the United States did not need an agreement and claimed it had secured money and control of the Strait.

Vance had publicly linked the war to the Republican Party’s recent midterm losses. He argued that the conflict and its effect on the cost of living had contributed to the party losing control of Congress.

Dispute over election losses

Vance, who has long questioned U.S. military interventions, wrote on X that the war was the reason Republicans lost. He challenged supporters of the conflict to explain whether its cost was worth losing the Senate for six years. Trump’s announcement came days after Vance’s comments, marking a public disagreement over the war’s political consequences.

Task force and fraud claims

Vance will now focus on chairing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, established by Trump through an executive order earlier this year. Trump named Minnesota, California and Illinois among states he described as poorly run and corrupt, and alleged that billions of dollars were being stolen each month.

Trump has repeatedly portrayed Democratic-led cities as centers of crime and fraud during federal crackdowns. Crime statistics, however, have not consistently supported those claims.

Other posts and market response

Oil prices increased and stocks declined after Trump’s announcement, as markets responded to renewed uncertainty over the conflict, Axios reported. Early Thursday, Trump also accused Democrats of trying to distract attention from alleged fraud in their states.