Peloni
Vance describing Israel as a partner rather than as a vassal to the US. October 22, 2026. Screengrab via Youtube.
US Vice President JD Vance states that the deconfliction channel established between the United States and Iran during negotiations in Switzerland will include representatives from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the US Army’s Central Command (CENTCOM), who will be based together in Doha, Qatar.
In an interview with UnHerd conducted as he returned from the talks, Vance said the mechanism was created to provide a direct channel for resolving disputes, explaining that Iran agreed to send an IRGC representative to work alongside a CENTCOM counterpart.
The arrangement is notable because the United States has designated the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, although US officials have previously acknowledged contacts with the IRGC during negotiations since the outbreak of the war. Before leaving Switzerland, Vance announced that the two sides had also agreed to establish mechanisms to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open and to maintain a regional ceasefire, particularly in Lebanon. It remains unclear whether the Doha coordination channel is responsible for one or both of these functions.
The inclusion of Iran in the Lebanon ceasefire mechanism drew criticism from Israel, which argues that Tehran should not have a role in decisions affecting Lebanon. Nevertheless, the United States agreed to Iran’s request that the memorandum of understanding include a ceasefire in Lebanon and allowed Tehran to participate in the deconfliction process established to support it.
Vance also said that the agreement the United States is seeking with Iran would differ substantially from the 2015 nuclear deal. According to him, the proposed arrangement would include a more stringent inspection regime and require the elimination of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, a condition that Iran has said it will not accept.
He further argued that the agreement could reshape the Middle East by encouraging greater cooperation between Iran and neighboring countries. Vance claimed that Arab states have become more supportive of the memorandum of understanding because of their own discussions with Iran. He cited the United Arab Emirates as an example, saying Emirati officials have been holding unprecedented talks with Iran, including with the IRGC, about economic incentives and the steps Iran would need to take to make itself more attractive for investment, adding that Iranian officials indicated a willingness to meet those conditions.
The inclusion of the IRGC in the deconfliction mechanism elevates not only the Iranian govt to a new height of control over the region, particularly of Israel, but also the IRGC is being granted a full partnership in the oversight of any outbreaks which occur between the IRGC proxy Hezbollah and Israel. So, the consequence of promoting Israel’s (and America’s) arch nemesis in the region to the division desk, as it were, is that the IRGC will be allowed to help decide about how altercations might be resolved after they, the IRGC, have sent their proxy Hezbollah to attack Israel in southern Lebanon. Once again, we are looking at the further development of Iranian hegemony in the region as the solution to American weakness.
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I thought Biden’s turn tale and run from Afghanistan was terrible. Not a patch on this.
I truly believe that the inmates of Hell’s psychiatric clinic are now running the asylum.