By Hammad Kahlun
Scandinavian news Finland
Vance Defends Iran’s Missile Retention at White House Briefing
US Vice President JD Vance publicly defended the position that Iran will not surrender its right to self-defense, while simultaneously drawing a firm line against Tehran possessing long-range missiles capable of threatening the broader international community.
Speaking at a White House press conference on June 18, Vance was asked to explain President Donald Trump’s apparent policy shift, given that the destruction of Iran’s missile programme had previously been framed as a central American war objective. The Times of Israel
Vance clarified Washington’s stance: “Regional countries don’t give up the right of self-defense. Just as Israel maintains its inherent right to protect itself, that principle applies equally across the region.
If Hezbollah fires rockets or drones at Israel, the Iranians don’t give up the right of self-defense in their country.” Iran International
The Red Line: No Missiles That Can “Broadly Threaten the Entire World”
While acknowledging Iran’s regional defence prerogatives, Vance was explicit about the limits Washington expects Tehran to accept in any final agreement.
Washington’s expectation under any final agreement is clear Tehran must not develop ballistic missiles capable of posing a danger to nations far beyond its borders.
Vance told reporters at the briefing. Iran International
The vice president also said the final deal which Washington hopes to conclude within two months — would require Iran to stop funding regional instability and terrorism and to halt any effort to rebuild its nuclear weapons programme. The Times of Israel
The US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding: What Has Been Agreed
The remarks came days after a landmark agreement between Washington and Tehran.
President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian each signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at developing a permanent peace deal to end the war between the two nations.
The memorandum requires Israeli military operations in Lebanon to cease immediately, while Iran must fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to unrestricted, toll-free passage.least 60 days. CNBC
Vance has said Iran agreed to turn over its stockpile of enriched uranium, allow routine inspections of its facilities, and not pursue the creation or purchase of a nuclear weapon. However, critics note the MOU text itself does not explicitly codify all these concessions. The Hill
Israel Pushes Back; Vance Dismisses “Freakout”
The agreement has drawn sharp criticism from Israel, a key US ally directly affected by any shift in Iran’s strategic capabilities.
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter cautiously pushed back against Trump’s assertion that Iran should be allowed to retain some ballistic missiles, after the administration had previously listed Dismantling Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities had been declared a primary military objective by the United States.
Vance dismissed Israeli anxieties, criticising what he called a “weird panic almost in the Israeli system,” and arguing that concerns about the deal emboldening Iran or Hezbollah were not supported by the facts as written in the agreement. Iran International
Washington Sets a “Holistic” Compliance Test for Tehran
Vance outlined the framework the United States will use to determine whether Iran is honouring its commitments and whether any red lines have been crossed.
“It’s going to be a holistic approach where we look at their behavior, are they funding terrorism, are they leading to attacks of other people, are they trying to get centrifuges to redevelop their nuclear weapons program,” Vance told the press briefing. He added that Iran’s willingness to allow international inspectors access to its facilities would also be a critical test. Iran International
Vance has further stated that Iran could gain access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund financed by a Gulf Coalition provided Tehran fully upholds its obligations under the deal. The Hill
Republican and International Reactions
The agreement has not gone unchallenged domestically either.
Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, called the deal “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” arguing that Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed and that Tehran had learned it could leverage the Strait of Hormuz as a strategic tool. CNBC
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the question of lifting sanctions on Iran could be addressed if a formal nuclear deal was reached, but stressed that point had not yet been reached. Iran International
The 60-day negotiating clock under the MOU officially began on June 18, with final agreement terms still to be formalised.
US-Iran memorandum of understanding
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