Trump says no Iran deal, sends Vance to domestic fraud fight

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Washington does not need a deal with Iran and that he had told Vice President JD Vance to drop negotiations with Tehran and concentrate instead on domestic anti-fraud work.

"We don't need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed. We've got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we've got their Strait!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The statement came a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that Vance was weighing face-to-face talks with a top Iranian security official. CNA, citing the Journal, reported that Trump had told aides and counterparts he was open to Vance reopening negotiations and had given him authority to do so. CNA described an in-person meeting at that level as an unusual move.

The Strait of Hormuz, which Trump referred to in his post, is the narrow channel at the mouth of the Gulf through which tankers carry a large share of the world's oil. Tehran choked off the waterway after US and Israeli strikes on Iran that began in late February, and the closure has driven energy costs up worldwide, according to CNA.

Oil prices rose after Trump's post and Wall Street futures slipped further, CNA reported. Bloomberg reported that crude jumped after the president said the US does not need a deal with Iran.

According to CNA, the announcement followed this month's US midterm elections, in which Republicans lost control of Congress to the Democrats. Anger over the war with Iran, which has pushed fuel prices up in the United States, was seen as a key factor driving voters away, and Vance was among Republicans who blamed the war for the party's losses.

Anadolu Agency reported that Trump's post also claimed US control of the Strait of Hormuz, and that he had directed Vance to focus on alleged corruption and crime in Democratic-led states and cities.