US President Donald Trump has directed Vice President JD Vance to shift his attention away from negotiations with Iran, declaring that Washington does not need a deal with Tehran, while later warning that leaving Iran’s current leadership in power would amount to a defeat, CNN reports.

In a Truth Social post on Thursday morning, Trump said he was instructing Vance, who had been assigned to lead negotiations between Washington and Tehran, to focus instead on tackling corruption and crime in Democratic-led states and cities.

“We don’t need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed!” Trump wrote, claiming the United States had secured Iran’s money and control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump’s remarks came amid accelerated diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran, with the two sides reportedly engaged in sensitive negotiations aimed at preventing a return to full-scale war and potentially paving the way for broader discussions.

The president’s latest comments appeared to signal uncertainty over his administration’s diplomatic approach, particularly as Vance has faced criticism over his handling of the negotiations.

Vance recently blamed the war with Iran for Republicans’ significant losses in the midterm elections, a position widely interpreted as an attempt to distance himself from the conflict as he considers a possible 2028 presidential bid.

Trump has acknowledged Vance’s assessment that the war contributed to the Republican losses but suggested that his vice president should have defended the decision to launch the military campaign.

“He should have made one other statement: ‘If you had it to do again, would you do it again? The answer is yes,’” Trump said.

However, Trump adopted a more aggressive tone during a later interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, indicating that he remained open to renewed military action against Iran.

Asked about the possibility of further strikes, Trump said, “It's possible I would do it right now,” although he also suggested that military action was not currently necessary.

“We control the Gulf in terms of the Hormuz Strait. We control it, totally control it,” he said.

During the same interview, Trump said he would “absolutely” consider it a defeat if he left the White House with Iran’s current leadership still in power, referring to them as the “Iran crazies”.

Despite the remarks, Trump has shown little recent indication that he intends to escalate the conflict by targeting additional Iranian leaders. He has previously complained that US strikes had eliminated so many Iranian officials that it had become difficult to identify counterparts for negotiations.

In an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump said he was “not looking” to escalate the war.

On Monday, he also told reporters at the White House that further military action would not be necessary “at this point”.