President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Vice President JD Vance should concentrate on investigating alleged crime and corruption in Democratic-run US cities, declaring that Washington no longer needed an agreement with Iran.
In a social media post, Trump argued that tackling corruption could generate greater savings than an Iran deal and help balance the federal budget. He accused Democratic leaders of widespread wrongdoing without providing evidence in the post.
“We don’t need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed,” Trump wrote, claiming the United States already held hundreds of billions of dollars in Iranian money and controlled the Strait of Hormuz.
The remarks came a day after Vance, who had been involved in efforts to resolve the Iran conflict, publicly questioned whether the war had been worth its cost.
Following heavy Republican losses to Democrats in the midterm elections, Vance blamed the conflict for the party’s defeat and described an earlier recommendation to end the war as “sound advice.”
His comments marked a distancing from Trump’s handling of the conflict. Vance is widely seen as a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028.
Trump has repeatedly targeted Democratic-run cities over immigration policies and allegations of corruption since beginning his second term in January 2025.
