Trump Strips Vance of Iran Diplomacy Duties Following Midterm Setback

TEHRAN, Nov 13 (OPA) — President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Vice President JD Vance is immediately stripped of all responsibilities regarding peace negotiations with Iran. Writing on Truth Social at 8:07 a.m., Trump declared that the administration no longer needs a deal with Iran and instructed Vance to focus instead on investigating alleged corruption in Democratic-led cities and states.

The removal followed a Wall Street Journal report indicating that Vance favored an in-person meeting with Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. Observers noted that Trump likely feared Vance would concede too much ground in pursuit of ending a conflict that has severely damaged Republican electoral standing.

The shakeup follows a crushing midterm defeat for the GOP, which saw Democrats secure a near 14-percentage-point lead in the national popular vote for the House of Representatives—the largest margin for the party in over 50 years. In the wake of the losses, Trump unleashed a series of angry posts targeting political rivals, threatening tariffs against Mexico over border security, and demanding the prosecution of Democratic lawmakers.

Trump's latest directives leave the administration's Middle East strategy in limbo, as the president has recently rejected both new military escalations and renewed negotiations. Washington appears poised to rely on existing punitive economic sanctions and maritime blockades rather than pursue a formal diplomatic settlement or a costly regional conflict.