Prior to the announcement this week of the framework of a new peace deal between Iran and the United States, former President Barack Obama told ABC’s Robin Roberts that it was “doubtful that any agreement that arises is going to be significantly different, or a significant improvement, from the deal that we had in the first place.”
[NOTE: Obama’s comment referred to the JCPOA, commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, that his administration — along with the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and Germany — negotiated with Iran in 2015, under which Iran agreed to the international monitoring of its nuclear program, a deal Trump withdrew the U.S. from during his first term.]
The deal Trump and Vice President JD Vance announced this week has critics on the Left and the Right, and Vance — making the media rounds to explain and defend it after critics argued it fell short of Trump’s stated objective of “unconditional surrender” — was asked by Fox News host Sean Hannity about Obama’s comment, and whether the new deal did represent an improvement over the JCPOA that Trump exited in 2018.
Vance: I would say Obama, why in the world, of it's the same thing, why is it that the gulf Arabs hated your deal and they love our deal? He should acknowledge that the people who are closest to this, they love the Trump deal. They hate the Obama deal. And that is maybe the… pic.twitter.com/gbvUjw9Al9
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 16, 2026
Vance staked his claim of a better deal this time around on what he characterized as the “love” that Iran’s neighboring Gulf Arab states have for the new deal, asserting that they “hated” Obama’s deal.
Vance said: “I’d ask the former president, I’d say, ‘Obama, why in the world, if it’s the same thing, is it that the Gulf Arabs hated your deal and they love our deal?”
Vance said Obama “should acknowledge that the people who are closest to this, they love the Trump deal. They hate the Obama deal. And that’s maybe the biggest endorsement of this plan.”
Critics assessing Vance’s assertions noted that the two deals were as yet incomparable based on the fact that the Trump deal has not been negotiated — there has been only a framework signed to begin negotiations, and that framework was not made public.
Commenting on the interview on X, many America First proponents expressed a hope that, since the U.S. and Israel spent billions bombing Iran, and the Gulf Arab states did not, the standard for success should be a deal that is “loved” by the U.S. and Israel, more than the Gulf Arab states. One commenter, echoing others, wrote: “Arabs are not friends of America. The worse the deal the more they will like it. Worse for America that is. And oh yes they are also happy because they won’t be bombed by Iran anymore.”
[NOTE: Israel is reportedly unhappy with the deal, with Israeli PM Netanyahu asserting it does not constrain Israel’s right to continue aggressive attacks in the region.]
In the same Hannity interview, the host asked specifically about one of the JCPOA provisions that had provided the international community with peace of mind regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions — the so-called “any place, anywhere, anytime” facet that made Iran’s nuclear operations subject to inspection without forewarning.
Vance’s answer, seen below, confirmed that this critical aspect of the JCPOA deal has not been locked down in the current arrangement.
Vance described “anytime” inspections of Iran nuclear operations by U.S. inspectors as “absolutely something we are negotiating over. That is one of the final details that’s going to be figured out here.”
Hannity: Let's talk about any place, anywhere, any time U.S. Inspectors? That's part of the deal?
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 16, 2026
Vance: Absolutely something we are negotiating over. That is one of the final details that’s going to be figured out here pic.twitter.com/r6xA4p1yy6
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