Trump Pulls Vance From Iran Talks, Says No Deal Needed, Cites Democratic-Run Areas

President Donald Trump said Thursday on Truth Social that Vice President JD Vance will no longer pursue peace talks with Iran and should instead give his full attention to alleged corruption and crime in Democrat-run cities and states. Trump said the U.S. does not need a deal with Iran, claiming it holds hundreds of billions of dollars of Iran's money and controls the Strait of Hormuz. He named Minnesota, California and Illinois as poorly run and claimed billions of dollars are stolen monthly. The announcement came just over a week after heavy Republican midterm losses, which Vance and others blamed on the Iran war. The U.S. and Israel launched the war in late February, and it is now in its ninth month. Vance led talks in Pakistan in April that ended without resolution. He recently sent a letter through Qatari mediators to Gen. Mohsen Rezaei proposing renewed talks, and the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday he was weighing a face-to-face meeting.

The Washington Examiner and Daily Signal lead with Trump's directive and quote his attacks on Democratic-run states at length. The Examiner adds that Middle Eastern allies said Vance was considering talks, and the Daily Signal's headline says he is being steered away from settling the war. Neither dwells on the war's costs. The New York Times and CBS News run the same Trump line but frame it around the war. The Times says the post deepens questions about Trump's plan, lists his options, and notes Vance's private opposition to the war and his letter to Rezaei. CBS leads with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accusing the U.S. of threatening to use its largest non-nuclear bomb, plus an adviser's warning about the blockade. Both sides report the Trump statement and its link to the midterm losses; they differ on whether corruption or the stalled war is the story. CNBC adds that the conflict has raised energy prices and inflation worries.