Vance: Iran Deal Bars U.S. Funds, Ties Reconstruction Aid to Compliance

Vice President JD Vance said Monday that the proposed U.S.-Iran deal would bar American taxpayer money from any reconstruction fund for Iran.

Speaking on Fox News' "Hannity," Vance told host Sean Hannity that Iran could tap the $300 billion fund only if it meets the obligations set out in the agreement.

"The agreement says they are not getting a single dime of American money," he said.

"What the agreement does say, Sean, is if the Iranians behave and if there are sanctions relief and if the Iranians are integrated into the world economy, we would invite other countries, not us, but other countries to invest in their country."

U.S. and Iranian officials reached an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end hostilities and address Tehran's nuclear weapons program. The memorandum of understanding is scheduled to be signed Friday in Switzerland.

Vance said the deal is performance-based and that Iran would gain access to the fund only after it complies with its terms.

"The Iranians don't get a dime unless they behave and change their behavior," he said. "If they show verifiable commitment, and that means a real inspections regime, then they can get the benefits of the bargain."

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told Tasnim News Agency that the memorandum "does not mean trusting the enemy; it has been written with active distrust."

Vance said the deal requires a nuclear-disarmed Iran and that the United States would work with Iran and international organizations to destroy the country's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

"What we're going to do, Sean, is destroy the highly enriched material, the nuclear dust, and we're gonna do it with the Iranians," he said.

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei played a direct role in shaping the memorandum, according to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Vance said the talks mark the highest level of direct communication the United States has had with Iranian leadership. He added that some Iranian hardliners appear open to changing course after decades of hostility.

"We're seeing even people that I would have assumed are hardliners who are kind of saying, 'Maybe it was a mistake for us to do the things that we've done over the last 40 years,'" he said.

Vance said that if Iran fails to meet its commitments, relations would return to their prior state.

"If the Iranians don't comply, then we're gonna go back to the same relationship that we had before, where we have all the cards," he said.