Vice President JD Vance insisted that the Iran deal could be reversed if there is “utter meltdown” over the terms — as the White House has pushed back on purported draft versions of the pact that have been leaked to the media.
Vance was pressed about the memorandum of understanding, which critics have argued tilts in favor of the Islamic Republic, in an interview with Megyn Kelly on Tuesday.
The conservative commentator pushed the veep to confirm that the deal could be reversed if there was widespread concern.
“I mean you’ve already signed it, but it’s not like legally binding to where you can’t undo it. It’s a diplomatic agreement. If people freak out, if there’s an utter meltdown here in the United States, it could always be undone if you change your minds,” Kelly suggested.
Vance agreed, adding that it is “simple.”
“Exactly. And and I again, Megyn, I could summarize this deal in like two or three sentences which is that if the Iranians change the way that they behave with regards to their nuclear weapon, with regards to their financing of terrorism, we are going to bring them into the world economy. If they don’t, we won’t. It’s really that simple,” he responded.
President Trump echoed Vance’s assertion that the details of the agreement could end up changing when a reporter asked him about it at the G7 summit in France Wednesday.
“No, it’s not final. It’s a memorandum of understanding, and if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their heads. If I don’t like it, and they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head,” the president warned.
Meanwhile, the White House is denying a draft 14-point version of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran obtained by CNN, Bloomberg and other outlets is the real thing.
“The supposed text of the MOU that was obtained by CNN does not reflect the language of the actual MOU,” White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote on X in response to a post by CNN White House correspondent Alayna Treene in which she trumpeted getting her hands on an advance copy.
The agreement would extend the cease-fire to Lebanon, open the Strait of Hormuz, waive Iranian sanctions and allow Iran to sell oil and establish a pathway toward a comprehensive peace agreement.
It also outlines a $300 billion development fund that Iran may be able to tap into if it meets commitments related to its nuclear program in further negotiations.
On Tuesday, Israel’s Channel 12 reported details of a slightly different 12-point agreement.
Notably, neither includes concrete promises regarding Iran’s nuclear program besides reiterating a pledge to never produce or obtain another weapon.
The full details of the deal will be released at a signing ceremony in Switzerland on Friday.
Skeptical congressional Republicans, however, aren’t rushing to support the deal as they wait to read the document — which had not been shared with even the highest-ranking lawmakers as of Tuesday afternoon, despite leaks about its contents.
“Unless you were homeschooled by a day drinker, no one’s confident that Iran is going to do anything,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters, after saying, “I want to read it myself.
