Tipsheet

JD Vance Levels Jessica Tarlov for Repeating Iranian Propaganda

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  June 17, 2026 10:30 AM

Vice President JD Vance leveled Jessica Tarlov on Tuesday, accusing her of echoing Iranian regime propaganda, including the false claim that Iran would receive a $300 billion reconstruction fund. 

Vance argued that her criticisms follow the Iranian playbook: highlighting everything the regime could get while ignoring the steps Iran must take and the concessions it must make to receive those benefits. He added that one of the reasons the deal faces so much criticism, especially from the left, is partly because President Trump is the one leading it.

"The Axios report last night was meaningful, where they said that CIA Director Ratcliffe, Rubio, and Hegseth, based on American intelligence, were doubting the kind of results that they thought we could get out of this deal," Tarlov said.

"Yeah, so Jessica, let me address a couple of things, because I think you're making the same mistake, unfortunately, that a lot of the Iranian propagandists make when they talk about this. They talk about the benefits to the Iranians without any of the things the Iranians would have to give up and have to change in order to get those benefits," the vice president replied. "So you mentioned a $300 billion fund. I've got to be very clear about this. Not a single cent of American money, under any circumstance, no matter what the Iranians do, goes to Iran. Not a single cent of American money. But they get other money."

He went on to explain how the money that Iran will receive will be in the form of investments by the Gulf States, and that won't even occur without the approval of American officials.

"So I think all the Democrats who are saying, well, the Iranians get all these things, they don't get anything unless there's been a complete transformation of how Iran interacts with the world, that would be a huge win for America," Vance said. "And to Jesse's point, if they don't do any of these things, we don't give them anything. They don't receive anything. Their nuclear program is still destroyed. Their military is still destroyed. Their missile program and industrial base is still destroyed. We fundamentally have transformed the Middle East. Whether they comply or not, this is just icing on the cake, assuming they do all the right things."

"Can I just—and then, obviously, it goes to Greg. So I guess two things." Tarlov said. "One, there's already been reporting that the Qataris have been paying off the Iranians to get them to—"

"Not true," Vance said. "I've seen the report, by the way, and we have a great relationship with the Qataris."

"No money has exchanged hands? Iran has not gotten a single dollar from any Gulf partners? OK. And, again, lots of criticism from the Republican side of this, as well. It is a bipartisan concern," Tarlov replied.

"Well, I think, look, some of the criticism comes from the fact that if Donald Trump were elected the supreme leader of Iran, the Democrats would still say that the United States had lost this," Vance quipped.

This comes as the world still waits for the actual text of the deal; so far, only speculation, confusion, and conflicting reporting have circulated. Vice President Vance said the page-and-a-half text will be released by Friday. Until then, Vance has been publicly working to correct the record on the deal. President Trump, frustrated that reports originate either from the administration or the Iranian regime, said he will hold a press conference to read the deal word-for-word to the world.