In a social media post, Trump told Vance to focus "his complete and total attention" on an anti-fraud campaign, declaring that a deal with Iran is no longer necessary. "We don't need a deal with Iran," Trump wrote. "Those days have long since passed. We've got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we've got their Strait!"

The instruction followed reports that Vance was weighing a new round of direct talks with a senior Iranian official. The vice president's office did not respond to a request for comment. The White House press office, in an email, pointed to Trump's post making clear he sees no need to negotiate with Iran.

The pivot is politically charged. Vance, who served as the lead negotiator for a short-lived truce in the war, has been blunt in blaming the conflict and its economic fallout for Republicans' losses in the Nov. 3 midterm elections. In a lengthy post on X after the losses, Vance did not mince words: "If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so," he wrote. "Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest."

Vance, who has long advocated restraint in U.S. military interventions overseas, became the face of an unsuccessful effort to end the fighting when he headed negotiations over the summer. He is considering a 2028 run for the White House, and voter dissatisfaction with the war could weigh on those ambitions. Trump has not endorsed a successor and said in a CBS "60 Minutes" interview that aired Sunday that he "may or may not get involved" in offering an endorsement.

Trump earlier this week said he believed the war "militarily is effectively over" and that mediation efforts led by Qatar are making progress. He also said it was unlikely he would need to make good on earlier threats to restart full-scale bombardment of Iran after the midterms. But in an interview on "The Hugh Hewitt Show" on Thursday, the president said he stood ready to restart strikes if necessary. "If something doesn't work out, I would not hesitate," he said. In a separate interview with commentator Stephen A. Smith, Trump suggested he hasn't ruled out strikes on Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, a facility linked to its nuclear program, if the U.S. detects signs of activity there.

The president's post about Vance also came as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress in January and have promised intense oversight of Trump's business dealings and other targets. Voters identified corruption as one of their top concerns in the midterms. Rep. Robert Garcia, who is set to lead the House Oversight Committee, has laid out four major investigations involving Trump and his family, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, corporate corruption, and Jeffrey Epstein.

Meanwhile, the waters around Iran remain treacherous. Oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have recovered to near prewar levels after Iran effectively choked the critical waterway for months, but international tankers now rely on U.S. Navy escorts to get oil out. The U.S. military has recently carried out limited strikes on Iran, including against its air defenses. The British military on Thursday reported at least two tankers were struck by projectiles in recent days while traversing contested waters near Iran. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said one tanker was struck Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz northwest of Ras al-Khaimah; the crew evacuated safely and no casualties were reported. In another incident Tuesday, a tanker was struck by a projectile in the Persian Gulf; multiple people were taken ashore for medical assistance while the remaining crew was safe.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week he pressed his Group of Seven counterparts during talks in Paris to "step up" and help protect ships from Iranian attacks but acknowledged making no headway. A Saudi-led coalition is also mired in fighting with Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, making transport through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait precarious.

Iran's chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that the United States has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to facilitate direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran. "It was the Americans who, during a visit to Moscow, spoke with Mr. Putin and asked him to speak with Iran so that, in any case, Iran would agree to speak directly with them," Qalibaf said. The White House did not directly respond to a query about whether the U.S. has asked Putin to facilitate talks. Qalibaf said the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei, traveled to Russia and briefed Putin on the negotiations. "It is up to them to decide. If they are truly telling the truth and are sincere about negotiations, then they should respond and begin the process," Qalibaf said. "But if they want to pursue the path of war, then naturally, we are fully prepared for that as well."