Vance warns Trump could resume military action if Iran breaks deal obligations

3 min readUpdated: Jun 16, 2026 03:28 PM IST

US Vice President JD Vance said President Donald Trump was prepared to resume military strikes against Iran if Tehran fails to comply with obligations under the newly announced deal with the United States.

In an interview with Fox News, Vance noted that the Gulf countries remain cautious of the Iranian regime despite prospects for regional stability, citing Tehran’s unpredictability.

“They don’t believe anything either,” Vance said of US allies in the Gulf. “They’re not certain. They’re not going to predict what the Iranians are going to do five years from now, but they see real opportunity.”

“So, we’re going to walk down this pathway. We’re going to see how serious the Iranians are.”

The US vice president highlighted that if Iran fails to meet its commitments under the deal, Tehran would lose any benefits offered by Washington.

“If they don’t do what they promise they’re going to do, they don’t get any benefits of the bargain, and as the president would say, we have all the cards,” Vance said.

“Their economy will still be in very tough shape if they don’t get the relief that they need to get in order to make progress,” he added.

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Vance further stated that Trump would not hesitate to resume bombings or impose a blockade if Iran doesn’t “honour the commitment”.

“We have the cards, and if they don’t honour the commitment, we’ll figure out what to do when we get there. I’ve known President Trump for a long time. I would say that means go back and resume bombing. It could. It could be, and he would. I don’t think he would hesitate,” Vance said. “It could mean the blockade goes back on, Sean,” he said.

No frozen funds transferred to Iran, says Vance

In a separate interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” program, Vance said that no funds would be transferred to Iran in exchange for signing the agreement to halt the war and open the Strait of Hormuz.

He said that the deal was signed digitally on Sunday, and no funds were released.

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“There’s been no money released, ​and that won’t change,” he said.

The US vice president said that Tehran would only receive money if it took verified actions to dismantle its highly enriched uranium stockpile.

“If we see the Iranians making, for ​example, taking action to eliminate their stockpile of enriched material, then yes, sanctions relief will follow. If we see ​the Iranians taking action to allow the kind of verification regime that we need to see to know that they’re not going to build a nuclear weapon, yes, sanctions relief will follow,” Vance said.

“If they don’t do the right things, if they ​don’t allow the verification regime, they’re never going to have the money to rebuild their nuclear program ​to begin with,” he added.

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JD Vance