STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are a test for Vice President JD Vance. He was deeply involved in working out that memorandum the U.S. and Iran signed this week. He did not go as expected to meet Iranians in Switzerland today but has more negotiations ahead. Vance has been defending the deal against critics who observed that Iran enjoyed immediate benefits and could enjoy many more. He says that all depends.
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JD VANCE: If they change their behavior, big things are going to happen for Iran and for the world. If they don't, no skin off our backs. Either way we win, and that's the way the president has set up this deal.
INSKEEP: NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben has focused on the vice president, who has become, in some ways, the face of this negotiation. Hi there, Danielle.
DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE: Good morning.
INSKEEP: What is the vice president's role in the negotiations?
KURTZLEBEN: Well, he confirmed at yesterday's White House press briefing that he'll be leading the negotiation team. There aren't a lot of details yet on that, though. He had been supposed to go to Switzerland today for a ceremonial signing, but then Trump signed the deal a couple days ago. So now the White House says negotiation plans aren't finalized, and Vance and his team will just leave at the first opportunity.
INSKEEP: Meaning will leave to go negotiate at the first opportunity.
KURTZLEBEN: Right.
INSKEEP: OK. How much is riding on him?
KURTZLEBEN: A lot. I mean, President Trump made a telling joke about this at a press conference this week. A reporter asked him essentially if Vance is the fall guy if things don't work out, and Trump answered with this.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: This way, if it works out, I'm going to take the credit. If it doesn't work out, I'm blaming JD. You better be careful, JD.
KURTZLEBEN: Now, it got laughs, and Vance said yesterday that, yeah, it was a joke. But even so there's a reason it got a laugh. Trump does not like to lose, and Vance is the face of these negotiations. He's been doing these many press appearances this week, talking up his new book. And in those, he also talked a lot about Iran, and he gave that press briefing yesterday, and he's leading the team. So if the U.S. does not get what it wants, Vance may, at least publicly, have to own a lot of that. And we even saw a little taste of that this week as well, when some on the right pinned their dissatisfaction with the deal on Vance.
INSKEEP: He's got a lot to accomplish in 60 days.
KURTZLEBEN: Yeah, absolutely. Though there is the possibility of extensions beyond 60 days. But...
INSKEEP: Sure.
KURTZLEBEN: ...Even so, the Obama nuclear deal took more than a year and a half to negotiate. So if it's 60, even 120 days, that still could be a pretty short time frame. And then, like you said, there's a lot Trump wants here. He has said Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Officials have talked about changing the course of the Middle East region. Those are high bars. And I talked to Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, about this.
MONA YACOUBIAN: The president's proclivities to exaggerate the terms for success, then set JD Vance or whoever's undertaking the negotiation going in at somewhat of a disadvantage.
KURTZLEBEN: Now, in addition to all of that, she said Iranians are notoriously tough negotiators, and Vance isn't a seasoned diplomat. So really, it's hard to overstate how big of a job this is going to be.
INSKEEP: What does he bring to the table if he's not a seasoned diplomat?
KURTZLEBEN: Well, he's been trying to laugh off that criticism, first of all, that he's not experienced. Yesterday, he said he has dealt with hostile adversaries, saying that, well, he was on "The View" this week, which, you know, ha-ha.
INSKEEP: OK.
KURTZLEBEN: But in terms of his assets, it is possible that Vance's anti-interventionist positions in the past give him some credibility here. In addition to that, he's an aggressive messenger for the administration. So really, I think the thing to keep in mind, though, is that for all the White House is celebrating, this framework isn't an end to the war. It's a start to what might be a difficult process to end the war.
INSKEEP: NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
KURTZLEBEN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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