Vance hints at side deals with Iran: 'Gentlemen's agreements'

He did not elaborate on any unwritten agreements with respect to specific terms.

Published: June 18, 2026 12:57pm

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday appeared to confirm that the U.S. and Iran had made a number of side deals that were not part of the official, 14-point memorandum of understanding ending the Iran war.

"So, some of them are written down, but fundamentally, whether they're written down or spoken, this is why we structured the deal that we did, because we don't trust words," he said during the White House press briefing. "We trust action and we trust conduct, and so we're going to reward conduct, and we're not going to reward any words, whether they're written on a sheet of paper or not."

"There's a lot of discussion, the MOU, the gentleman's agreements, the final deal," he continued. "Words don't matter, ladies and gentlemen, we're about verification, and so what we're going to do is to say if they do the things that they have promised to do, they have promised not to enrich."

Vance made the remarks in response to a question about a series of reported "gentlemen's agreements" with Tehran that were not included in the public document.

He did not elaborate on any unwritten agreements with respect to specific terms.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.

The Facts Inside Our Reporter's Notebook

Unlock unlimited access

  • No Ads Within Stories
  • No Autoplay Videos
  • VIP access to exclusive Just the News newsmaker events hosted by John Solomon and his team.
  • Support the investigative reporting and honest news presentation you've come to enjoy from Just the News.
  • Just the News Spotlight

    Support Just the News