Former Vice President Mike Pence went on Fox News Monday and said what a lot of Americans are thinking: it’s time to stop negotiating with Tehran and start defeating them. Speaking with Bill Hemmer on America’s Newsroom, Pence called on President Trump to “unleash the armed forces of the United States” to strike Iran’s remaining nuclear facilities and degrade their ability to project force across the Middle East, according to the Fox News broadcast. This isn’t a former official trying to stay relevant—it’s a former official who understands that diplomacy with the Islamic Republic has a 47-year track record of failure.
Pence didn’t mince words about the reality of the situation. “One does not make peace with one’s enemy,” he said on the program. “One makes peace with one’s defeated enemy.” That line cuts through all the State Department euphemisms and expert analysis about “regional stability” and “diplomatic solutions.” The Iranian regime has been at war with the United States since 1979. They’ve funded terror groups that have killed American soldiers, chanted “Death to America” in their parliament, and pursued nuclear weapons while lying to every international body tasked with stopping them, as Pence noted during the interview.
The former Vice President was careful to credit Trump’s previous military action against Iran, noting that the strikes last year marked the first time in nearly half a century that the U.S. hit Iranian targets directly after they voted for continuous war against America and the West. But Pence argues that the president has spent the months since trying to create room for diplomacy—even as Iran denies that negotiations are happening at all, per the Fox News segment. The regime’s response to Trump’s overtures has been predictable: denial, defiance, and the continued pursuit of nuclear capability while buying time at the bargaining table.
Pence’s prescription is straightforward and brutal in its clarity. Strike the remaining nuclear facilities. Take down and degrade Iran’s ability to project force not just in the Strait of Hormuz but across the entire region. Let the U.S. military and our ally Israel finish the job that was started. This isn’t warmongering—it’s the recognition that some adversaries cannot be reasoned with, only defeated, as Pence stated. The Iranian regime has demonstrated repeatedly that it views diplomacy as a tactic for delay, not a pathway to peace.
The political implications of Pence’s statement are significant. This is Trump’s former running mate, the man who stood beside him through four years of administration, publicly urging him to take the most aggressive military option available during the Fox News appearance. It puts pressure on the White House from the hawkish wing of the Republican coalition at a moment when Trump is reportedly weighing his next move. The president has shown he’s willing to use force—his decision to strike Iran directly last year proved that. But he’s also shown a preference for dealmaking, for the grand gesture that resolves conflicts without the mess and uncertainty of prolonged military engagement.
The problem is that Iran doesn’t want a deal—not really. They want sanctions relief without concessions, nuclear capability without consequences, and regional dominance without resistance. The regime’s denial that talks are even happening, even as Trump confirms they are, should tell you everything you need to know about their good faith, Pence emphasized. They’re playing a different game than the one the administration is trying to play, and Pence is arguing that it’s time to stop playing altogether.
Whether Trump takes this advice remains to be seen. The president has his own instincts and his own timeline, and he’s proven repeatedly that he doesn’t follow anyone’s script but his own. But Pence’s intervention matters because it represents a growing consensus among national security hawks that the current approach isn’t working. You can’t negotiate with a regime that won’t admit it’s negotiating. You can’t reach a diplomatic solution with an enemy that views your diplomacy as weakness. And you can’t secure peace with an adversary that believes it’s winning the long war.
The clock is ticking. Iran’s nuclear program isn’t standing still while diplomats exchange pleasantries. Every day of talks that go nowhere is a day closer to a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic. Pence is saying what needs to be said: it’s time to finish the job.
Providence watches over the bold.
About The Author
