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Former Vice President Mike Pence warned the Trump administration not to repeat the mistakes of the Obama and Biden years as officials prepare for talks with Iran this weekend.
Pence joined “Fox & Friends” Thursday to praise recent military successes but cautioned that Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff must demand the unconditional abandonment of Iran’s nuclear program.
“The last thing we want is another Iran nuclear deal,” Pence said. “The president and I got out of that deal back during our administration. We put a maximum pressure campaign on. Biden immediately returned to office and went back to the politics of appeasement.”
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Vance and Witkoff are headed to Pakistan for talks this weekend following a fragile two-week ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Pence argued the U.S. must ensure Iran halts its nuclear weapons program, opens the Strait of Hormuz and ends support for regional proxies.
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“My prayer is, as the vice president and our negotiation team goes to Pakistan, is that they draw that line and say, ‘That’s what we need you to agree to.’ We hold them to that deal in the months and years ahead,” Pence said.
He added the U.S. military must be ready to act if Iran breaks its word, arguing the Biden administration’s decision to drop the “maximum pressure” campaign was a major mistake.
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“President Trump has reversed that and created the conditions where I think we have a pathway to a diplomatic solution, but we’ve got to have the sheer, incredible force of the United States of America and our allies behind us to enforce it,” he added.
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Vance has indicated the Iranians are open to discussions, describing negotiations as being in a “good spot.” He noted the reopening of the strait and the ceasefire as signs of good faith, but echoed Pence’s sentiment that any breach would be met with “serious consequences.”
“We obviously don’t want the people of Iran to suffer, but we have a lot of leverage that the President of the United States could use,” Vance said. “It’s why I think it’s so important for the Iranians to be negotiators in good faith,” he added.