Vice President JD Vance is insisting that any potential US military action against Iran wouldn't drag the country into another long Middle East war. Speaking aboard Air Force Two, on Thursday, Vance told the Washington Post there is "no chance" strikes ordered by President Trump would turn into an open-ended conflict, even as the administration weighs options ranging from further attacks aimed at Iran's nuclear program to a negotiated solution. High-level indirect talks between the US and Iran were held in Geneva Thursday amid a major US troop buildup in the region, one of the largest since before the 2003 Iraq invasion.
Vance, a Marine veteran who has said he was "lied to" about the Iraq war, cast himself and Trump as cautious about foreign interventions but open to force if needed. "I do think we have to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. I also think that we have to avoid overlearning the lessons of the past," Vance said. "Just because one president screwed up a military conflict doesn't mean we can never engage in military conflict again. We've got to be careful about it, but I think the president is being careful."
- Vance also defended a widening debate on the right over US policy in the Middle East and support for Israel, calling contentious conversations—including a recent Tucker Carlson interview with Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel—a good and necessary airing of views inside the Trump coalition, even when he finds some voices "annoying."
Thursday's talks on Iran's nuclear program ended without a deal but lower-level negotiations will continue next week in Vienna, the
AP reports. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, told state television it was one of the "most intense and longest" rounds of negotiations and said "what needs to happen has been clearly spelled out from our side," without providing details. The talks were mediated by Iran. Ali Vaez, an Iran expert with the International Crisis Group, tells the AP that while there was no breakthrough, it is an encouraging sign that the US agreed to more talks instead of walking away when Iran presented its proposal.
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