\u201cThey were like, \u2018OK, fine, we\u2019ll send somebody from the IRGC to go hang out in Doha with somebody from CENTCOM,\u2019 and that\u2019s how we\u2019re going to settle a lot of these disputes,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
While US officials recently revealed that contact had been established with the IRGC during negotiations with Iran since the outbreak of the war, the fact that Vance is now saying that the engagement is taking place at the military level is particularly noteworthy, given that the US has designated the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.<\/p>\n
Before departing Switzerland on Monday, Vance gave a press conference during which he touted what he said were two new mechanisms that the US and Iran agreed to establish during their weekend negotiations \u2014 one to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz remains open and another to maintain a regional ceasefire, particularly in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n It was unclear which of those two mechanisms Vance was describing in the UnHerd interview, or whether the IRGC-CENTCOM coordination hub that has purportedly been set up in Doha will deal with both of those issues.<\/p>\n \t It was specifically the deconfliction mechanism that Vance announced regarding Lebanon that infuriated Israel, which has argued that Iran should have no say on what happens in the country.<\/p>\n But either because of Iran\u2019s significant leverage in the Strait of Hormuz or because Washington believes that Iran is needed to rein in Hezbollah, the US first agreed to Tehran\u2019s demands that the memorandum of understanding inked last week include a ceasefire in Lebanon and then agreed to allow Iran to be part of the deconfliction mechanism that was established to ensure that ceasefire.<\/p>\n The US has sought to blunt criticism by announcing the reestablishment of a separate Lebanon deconfliction mechanism, in which Israeli and Lebanese military officials sit together with CENTCOM to respond in real time to potential threats to the ceasefire.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear, though, whether this mechanism \u2014 outlined by Marco Rubio\u2019s State Department \u2014 or the one laid out by Vance in Switzerland is actually active, as US President Donald Trump has oscillated between the two top aides to create a policy that sometimes appears contradictory.<\/p>\n The US established a direct channel between Israel and Lebanon in April, specifically to detach Iran from developments in Lebanon, only to reconnect Tehran to developments in Beirut by signing onto an MOU that included a ceasefire in Lebanon.<\/p>\n Harvesting decades of mistrust<\/p>\n Another aspect of the MOU that exposed the US to blowback is its inclusion of significant sanctions relief for Iran. The US has claimed that the funds released to Iran will have to be spent in the US for the betterment of the American economy.<\/p>\n \t But Iran\u2019s parliament speaker and top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, denied that it was the case on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica falsely claims our unfrozen assets will buy their agriculture. Interesting. The only crop we\u2019re harvesting is what you planted: decades of mistrust,\u201d Ghalibaf said in a post on X, in the most recent assertion by Tehran that it will manage its own assets. \u201cIt\u2019s organic, abundant, and homegrown. But apparently the US only exports GMO soybeans, broken promises and trash talks.\u201d<\/p>\n Vance in the UnHerd interview insisted that the final deal the US seeks with Iran through the MOU will be \u201cradically different\u201d than the 2015 nuclear agreement signed by former US president Barack Obama because the inspection regime will be more intense and Iran\u2019s stockpile of enriched uranium will be \u201celiminated\u201d \u2014 something Iran has said it will not accept.<\/p>\n The vice president also argued that his deal will transform the Middle East by leading to more cooperation between Iran and the rest of the region.<\/p>\n Arab states are more appreciative of the MOU \u201cbecause of the conversations they\u2019re having with the Iranians,\u201d Vance claimed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Emiratis \u2014 by far the most hawkish, by far the most pro-Israel country in the GCC \u2014 they\u2019re having conversations with the Iranians that have never happened before, including with the IRGC, about various types of economic incentives \u2014 \u2018Here\u2019s what we\u2019d need to see to make your country investable\u2019 \u2014 and the Iranians come back and say, \u2018Okay, yeah, we\u2019re willing to do all those things,’\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n However, analysts overwhelmingly argue that those new conversations between Iran and its Gulf neighbors are due to the latter\u2019s conclusion, following the recent war, that the US has become an unreliable security partner and feel that improving ties with their adversary is the only way to better ensure their security.<\/p>\n \t Gulf FMs say Iran proxies, missiles must be addressed for \u2018lasting\u2019 peace<\/p>\n Rubio jetted off to the Gulf this week, making stops in the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain in a bid to reassure allies of Washington\u2019s commitment to their security after it was significantly jeopardized by the war the US and Israel launched against Iran.<\/p>\n Rubio capped off his trip by participating in a Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Bahrain, which resulted in a lengthy joint statement by participating countries regarding their policies in the region.<\/p>\n Most notably, the statement included an assertion by the Gulf\u2019s top diplomats that dealing with Iran\u2019s proxies and missiles is key to lasting peace, and that any trade and investment with Tehran will be reversible and contingent on it respecting its deal with the US.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ministers further emphasized that lasting regional peace and security requires addressing the full spectrum of Iran\u2019s threats, including its ballistic missiles, drones, and support of proxies in the region,\u201d they said in the joint statement.<\/p>\n \u201cAny trade and investment with Iran is conditional and reversible, contingent on Iran\u2019s compliance with the MOU and the final agreement, cessation of its destabilizing behavior, and creation of the conditions necessary for economic engagement,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n The Gulf ministers expressed their support for the memorandum of understanding inked between the US and Iran last week, while stressing the need for the parties to reach a final agreement that stabilizes the region.<\/p>\n \t The Gulf ministers also emphasized \u201cthe importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, noting that free, unconditional and unrestricted navigation, including the right of transit passage as guaranteed under international law, remains essential to regional and global security,\u201d the statement says, rejecting any tolls or attempts to assert control over the strait, while welcoming Oman\u2019s opening of an additional corridor in the channel to secure the safe passage of stuck vessels.<\/p>\n Shortly before the joint statement was issued, Oman\u2019s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi issued one of his own, asserting that no transit fees will be imposed in the Strait of Hormuz. Muscat previously offered mixed signals on the issue.<\/p>\n The GCC statement went on to stress Gulf support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of both Syria and Lebanon, an apparent reference to the buffer zones that the IDF has established in both of those countries, claiming they are needed to ensure the security of Israel\u2019s northern residents.<\/p>\n The ministers welcomed the ongoing talks between Israel and Lebanon and agreed on the importance of disarming non-state actors such as Hezbollah.<\/p>\n The statement also expressed support for the US 20-point plan for stabilizing Gaza, which is being overseen by the Board of Peace \u2014 a new Trump-chaired international body that Gulf countries have pledged billions to support.<\/p>\n The ministers reiterated their support for disarming Hamas and handing over control of Gaza to the Board of Peace-overseen committee of Palestinian technocrats.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26172408195610-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tUS Vice President JD Vance, right, shakes hands with Pakistan\u2019s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, left, next to Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, center, as they meet for high-level talks at the Buergenstock resort near Lucerne, Switzerland, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26175400227755-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tPeople inspect their shops destroyed in previous Israeli airstrikes in the town of Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, June 24, 2026, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo\/Bilal Hussein)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AFP__20260625__B8A93GE__v1__HighRes__BahrainUsIranIsraelWarDiplomacy-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) listens to Bahrain\u2019s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa following his visit to the Middle East to discuss the interim deal between the US and Iran with Arab Gulf allies, and to attend a meeting by the Gulf Cooperation Council Member States (GCC), at Al-Sakhir Palace, near Zallaq on June 25, 2026 (Eric Lee \/ POOL \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AFP__20260625__B89G2GW__v1__HighRes__BahrainUsIranIsraelWarDiplomacy-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C-top) attends a meeting with foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council Member States during his visit to the Middle East to discuss the interim deal between the US and Iran with Arab Gulf allies, in Manama on June 25, 2026. (Photo by Eric Lee \/ POOL \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
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