Former Vice President Mike Pence has firmly backed his old boss over the Iran war - but warned that President Donald Trump would soon have to “go in and finish the job” to claim a defeat.
Trump faces increasing unpopularity at home tied strongly to the war, which he and his Cabinet officials predicted would be over in a matter of “weeks” but is now approaching its six-month mark.
Pence told CNN Sunday that the Iranian military and its leadership were not recognizing the reality on the ground, and implied that the deployment of further forces inside Iran would be an “inevitable” next step.
"I think the time is going to come sooner rather than later when the president and our ally Israel are going to have to go in and finish the job,” said the former vice president, speaking while on a trip to Kyiv, Ukraine.
Pence added that the negotiations aimed at establishing and then extending the 60-day ceasefire were “for naught”, adding that Iran would not agree to the president’s terms until its leaders publicly acknowledged their total defeat.
"You don't make peace with your enemy, you make peace with your defeated enemy,” said Pence.
Trump’s former vice president made the remarks as the USS Abraham Lincoln is leaving the region after being replaced by the USS George Washington.
The extended nine-month deployment of the aircraft carrier Lincoln drew criticism on Capitol Hill after media reports emerged of food shortages, cleanliness issues and serious mental health issues developing among members of the crew. Trump officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have claimed that those reports are false.
Pence cheered the news but added that the deployment of U.S. military assets to the region would be necessary for the forseeable future.
“It’s gonna be absolutely imperative that we keep the pressure on and that we keep our military assets in the region,” said Pence.
U.S. military forces in the region are now largely engaged with securing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz for shipping traffic, that accounts for a significant share of global energy supplies.
U.S. forces have established a secure shipping lane off the coast of Oman allowing the passage of 15-20 vessels through the strait every night, according to Axios, lower than pre-war traffic levels, but better than the standstill that persisted for weeks.
Previously, U.S. officials centered their war goals around Iran’s nuclear program and securing an agreement with Iran to dismantle its remaining nuclear sites and dispose of its remaining enriched material.
Those efforts have largely fallen by the wayside as focus has narrowed around the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s ability to shut down or significantly restrict the passage of tankers and others vessels through the passage.
Trump and his allies have crowed for months that Iran’s military is “obliterated” and poses no remaining threat to U.S. forces. However, the supply issues weighing on the Lincoln were reportedly further stressed by Iranian strikes on U.S. bases around the region that have disrupted supply lines. Hundreds of U.S. service members have been injured over the course of the war in Iranian strikes and other incidents.
A 60-day ceasefire extension officially expired last week. Prospects of a new agreement being signed seem low, and there are no indications that talks are ongoing at a high level.
Trump faces pressure from some members of his own party to end the war quickly, but sustained U.S. military might has thus far been unable to oust the Iranian government or fully eradicate the ability of its forces to attack vessels in the Strait.
Polls show that less than a third of U.S. midterms voters believe that Trump is handling the war well.
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