This week, the US-Iran deal is dominating headlines, and Vice President JD Vance is at the center of a confusing and contradictory messaging storm. Vance, once a private skeptic of war with Iran, has now become the administration's chief defender of a deal critics call a capitulation. But should Vance be thinking harder about the narrative he's selling? On one hand, he claims Iran's nuclear program is "destroyed" — a claim U.S. intelligence reportedly disputes — while also touting "gentlemen's agreements" not in the written deal. The message is muddled further as Vance warns Israel not to criticize Trump, even as Trump himself undermines negotiations with threats of force from afar. Add to that Vance's own failed trip to lead talks and an Iranian snub at the negotiating table. So what’s the real strategy?

Guest Info: Dr. Jamsheed K. Choksy is a Distinguished Professor, former Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, former Chair of the Department of Central Eurasian Studies, and current Director of the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center at Indiana University - Bloomington.