Vance is caught between a rock and a hard place, with Trump suddenly turning on him and the Qatari representative ignoring him completely.
After a series of twists and turns, the U.S. and Iran have finally reached a draft agreement in Switzerland. Yet the American chief negotiator, Vice President Vance, can't even smile.
It's well known that after negotiations began, Trump once threatened to restart military operations. In response, the Iranian delegation immediately announced a halt to talks—leaving Vance in an extremely awkward position.
In fact, every one of Trump’s threats becomes a burden rather than an advantage for Vance. Since much of the initiative lies in Iran’s hands, the U.S., eager to extricate itself, has no choice but to concede to Iran’s demands.
Trump’s frequent reversals only deepen Iran’s distrust of the U.S. To gain Iran’s trust, Vance is forced to make even greater concessions.
This explains why, before the talks began, Vance was still optimistic. When entering the negotiation room, he joked that he had spoken more with Pakistan’s Army Chief Munir over the past three months than he had with his own wife. These two men have become the most important people in his life—one from India, the other from Pakistan.
During the process, a small incident occurred: when the Qatari representative, also a mediator, entered the room, he completely bypassed Vance at the front and instead greeted Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz and Munir behind him.
Given that Gulf states will primarily bear the $300 billion reconstruction funding for Iran, it's understandable that Qatar harbors resentment toward Vance. It's like your friend beating someone up and then making you pay the medical bills—purely a setup for a sucker.
But Vance is also suffering unjustly. After all, he never supported military intervention in the Middle East from the start. Yet surrounded by "hawkish" figures close to the president, he was isolated for a time. Now even Rubio dares to stand on equal footing with him.
Now that Trump wants to end the conflict, he pushes Vance out as a scapegoat. He even bluntly said: if the deal succeeds, he'll take credit; if it fails, it's all Vance’s fault.
Looking across American history, it’s hard to find a vice president more miserable than Vance ever was.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868686872613891/
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