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President Donald Trump joked during an Easter event at the White House on Wednesday, April 1, that he would let Vice President JD Vance take the fall if negotiations to end the war in Iran were to fall apart
Vance told the president that U.S. talks with Iran were “going good”
Iranian officials have denied engaging in substantial negotiations with the U.S.
President Donald Trump joked during an Easter event at the White House on Wednesday, April 1, that he plans to hold Vice President JD Vance responsible if negotiations to end the war in Iran ultimately fall apart.
“He’s working on the deal, right? How’s that moving? Is it OK? The big deal?” Trump, 79, asked Vance, 41, in front of administration officials and supporters. A video of the event, which was closed to the press, briefly appeared on the White House’s website and YouTube channel before it was deleted.
Vance, responding to Trump’s question from the audience, said talks with Iranian officials were “going good.”
“You see it happening?” Trump asked.
“Uh, we’re gonna brief you, too,” Vance replied.
“So, if it doesn’t happen, I’m blaming JD Vance,” Trump said to laughter. “If it does happen, I’m taking full credit.”
“I think it has to happen,” Trump added. “I think they’re desperate.”
In a televised address from the White House on Wednesday evening, Trump said the war in Iran, which began in February with an attack from the U.S. and Israel, was “nearing completion.” He touted the U.S. and Israel’s military action in Iran as an overwhelming success, while also threatening to escalate the conflict if a deal to end the war is not reached quickly.
“We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” Trump said in the 19-minute address. “We’re going to bring them back to the stone ages where they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the American people directly in a letter ahead of Trump’s speech.
“Today the world stands at a crossroads,” Pezeshkian wrote. “Continuing along the path of confrontation is more costly and futile than ever before. The choice between confrontation and engagement is both real and consequential; its outcome will shape the future for generations to come.”
Earlier on Wednesday, The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence agencies have surmised in recent days that the Iranian government is unwilling to engage in substantial talks to end the fighting because it believes itself to have the upper hand in the war.
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In an interview with Al Jazeera on Tuesday, March 31, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had received messages from Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, but that “does not mean that we are in negotiations.”
“There is no truth to the claim of negotiations with any party in Iran,” he said, adding that Iran has never had a “good experience” negotiating with the U.S.
“We do not have any faith that negotiations with the U.S. will yield any results,” Araghchi told the outlet. “The trust level is at zero.”
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