J.D. Vance before a quadrilateral meeting between the US, Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar at the Burgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, June 21, 2026 (Fabrice Coffrini/Reuters)
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I joined France 24 English on Monday, just after Vice President J.D. Vance gave his version of the talks to end the US War on Iran.
I explain how Vance tried to portray concessions to the Iranians as a Trumpist “victory”, misrepresenting the context of the issues involved in the talks.
He tried to portray the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as a triumph, even though the waterway was open before the war — and will now be under Iranian management, likely alongside Oman.
He acknowledged that Iran will receive billions of dollars in unfrozen assets, but claimed falsely — according to Tehran — that the funds must be used to buy US commodities and goods.
He claimed a major achievement in returning International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to Iran, but did not mention that those inspections were not halted by Tehran but by Israel’s 12-day war in June 2025.
And he tried to brush away an Iranian walkout on Sunday, because of Donald Trump’s threats, that gave Tehran leverage to achieve its conditions later in the day.
J.D. Vance was putting lipstick on a pig. Weeks ago, Donald Trump and his officials accepted the Iranian agenda for the talks.
And that is still the agenda.
