Mike Pence urges Trump to “finish the job” in Iran

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday that President Donald Trump and Israel may soon have to “finish the job” in Iran, arguing that further military action is likely despite the administration’s growing reliance on economic pressure and sanctions.

Pence’s comments place him among the strongest advocates for continued pressure on Tehran at a time when some lawmakers in both parties have questioned whether the conflict should be wound down through diplomacy rather than expanded.

His remarks came during an interview with CNN’s State of the Union from Kyiv, Ukraine, where he was meeting with Ukrainian officials and discussing both the war in Eastern Europe and ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

Newsweek reached out to the White House on Sunday.

Pence Predicts More Military Action

Pence argued that the conflict is unlikely to end through negotiations alone.

“It’s going to be absolutely imperative that we keep the pressure on, and that we keep the military assets in the region to be able to take the action that I believe is going to be inevitable,” the former vice president told host Dana Bash.

“The time’s 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,” Pence said.

Pence argued on Sunday that Iran’s leaders still do not believe they have been defeated, which he said makes a lasting settlement with the U.S. unlikely without continued military and economic pressure.

Earlier this month, Pence said during a Fox News appearance that he believes Trump will eventually abandon his push for a diplomatic agreement and return to military action.

“I honestly think the time has come for the president of the United States to unleash the armed forces of the United States,” Pence said, adding that he believed the president would eventually decide that negotiations were no longer effective.

“Given [Iran’s] posture and their attitudes and even denying negotiations are happening, I have every confidence there will come a moment where my old running mate has had enough and we oughta turn loose the greatest military,” Pence said.

Pence also criticized the proposed U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding as “appeasement” earlier this summer and said sanctions relief would provide a “lifeline” to the Iranian regime.

Trump’s Economic Pressure Campaign

Pence’s remarks come as the Trump administration has increasingly relied on sanctions, economic pressure and international isolation measures rather than launching a new major round of strikes against Iran.

In a Wednesday Truth Social post, Trump announced what he called the “most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country,” pledging severe consequences for countries, businesses and financial institutions that support Iran economically.

“This will be economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale,” Trump wrote. “ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences. This will be an economic D-Day, and we need all of our allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat.”

The administration’s current strategy centers on sanctions, trade restrictions and efforts to isolate Tehran from international financial networks. Trump has also pushed allies to target oil smuggling operations, financial transfers, front companies and other channels Iran has historically used to reduce the impact of sanctions.

“My assessment is that Iran will currently try to resist economic pressure for as long as possible in an effort to discourage the U.S. from continuing down this path and persuade Washington to return to negotiations with a different approach,” Amin Mokarrami, an Iranian journalist who closely covers the nation’s economic trends, recently told Newsweek. “Iran would likely seek concessions such as sanctions relief, the release of frozen assets and an easing of restrictions.

“However, if the economic situation becomes truly critical—for example, if annual inflation rises above 100 percent, the rial collapses, or essential goods become scarce in stores—then, given Iran’s current political circumstances, I would consider a major escalation of military tensions by Iran far more likely than serious negotiations or significant concessions to the U.S.”

Iran’s goal, he argued, would be “to disrupt the current battlefield calculations and alter the strategic assumptions of the U.S. and its allies.”

“But what the outcome of another round of war would be is genuinely impossible to predict,” he said.

A Complicated Relationship

Pence served as Trump’s vice president from 2017 to 2021 and was for years one of the president’s most loyal allies. Their relationship fractured after the 2020 election, when Pence refused Trump’s demands to block certification of Joe Biden’s victory.

Since leaving office, Pence has occasionally broken with Trump, most notably over Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and, more recently, over aspects of Iran policy.

While Pence praised Trump’s earlier decisions to strike Iran and pressure the regime, he has repeatedly expressed skepticism that negotiations or sanctions relief can produce a lasting agreement. He argued in June that any settlement must include the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and stronger restrictions on the regime’s capabilities.

Pence has consistently taken a more traditional Republican national-security approach, advocating robust military support for Ukraine, a strong U.S. presence overseas and an aggressive posture toward adversaries such as Iran. On Sunday, he also discussed Ukraine’s request for additional Patriot missile systems and rejected concerns that U.S. support for Kyiv should be reduced because of resource demands elsewhere.

Contact Newsweek editor for this story: Anthony Murray.