President Donald Trump Says He’ll Blame VP JD Vance If Iran War Negotiations Fall Through

President Donald Trump jokingly put Vice President JD Vance in the hot seat over a proposed deal with Iran to end the ongoing war, essentially saying there’s no positive outcome for the VP.

Speaking at the annual Easter lunch event at the White House on Wednesday, April 1, the 79-year-old president called out Vance, 41, during his remarks, first noting that he had lost weight.

Then he highlighted Vance’s ongoing work negotiating a deal to end the war in Iran, which was started by a joint attack by the U.S. and Israel in February.

“He’s working on the deal, right? How’s that moving? Is it OK? The big deal?” Trump asked Vance, who was in the crowd, per Forbes.

Vance could be heard responding, seemingly taken off guard by the question, saying that the president would be briefed on the progress of the negotiations. That’s when Trump essentially said there’s no way for Vance to get any credit, regardless of what happens.

“So, if it doesn’t happen, I’m blaming JD Vance,” Trump said, getting laughs from the people in the room. “If it does happen, I’m taking full credit.”

“I think it has to happen,” he added. “I think they’re desperate.”

Although Vance claims the talks are ongoing, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently told Al Jazeera that no such negotiations are happening. He admitted he had received messages from Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, but noted that doesn’t mean that they’re in formal negotiations with the United States.

“We do not have any faith that negotiations with the U.S. will yield any results,” Araghchi told the news organization. “The trust level is at zero.”