Vance defends Trump’s Iran strategy: ‘People confuse the ends with the means’

Published June 17, 2026 12:20pm ET



Vice President JD Vance defended President Donald Trump’s approach to Iran, saying, “people confuse the ends with the means,” and arguing that the peace deal delivers on the administration’s primary objective: preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon. 

Vance argued that critics are losing sight of the ultimate goal, asserting that the deal “ensures that Iran won’t get a nuclear weapon, and it ensures that the [Strait of Hormuz] stays open.”

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