A leading voice in Rupert Murdoch’s media empire is turning up the heat on Vice President JD Vance, demanding he be pulled from Iran negotiations as a fragile truce between Washington and Tehran collapses into renewed violence. Fox News host Brian Kilmeade sharpened his attacks on July 9, insisting the United States needs an entirely new team at the table if talks with Iran ever resume.
The demand marks a striking escalation from a broadcaster whose views frequently track those of the media mogul who owns Fox News. Murdoch has signaled mounting frustration with President Donald Trump through his outlets, and Kilmeade’s blistering assessment of the vice president’s diplomatic record lands squarely in that pattern.
Vance has been at the center of the administration’s Iran strategy since Trump launched a deeply unpopular war against the country in February without congressional approval. He has twice led the American delegation in talks with Tehran, and neither round has produced a durable result.
A Fox Host’s Blunt Verdict
Kilmeade left little room for interpretation. Amid the shaky ceasefire, he argued that any future negotiations would require different personnel entirely, dismissing the current effort as doomed. Kilmeade said the one thing the U.S. needs is a different negotiating team, adding that if talks happen at all, the present group cannot get it done.
The host suggested Vance and fellow envoy Steve Witkoff should redirect their attention to Ukraine. He also brushed aside the Iranian counterparts at the table as ineffective, contending that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) holds real authority in Tehran and that American officials should engage only with those genuinely making decisions.
Kilmeade pushed for a harder line as well, urging the military to seize and hold the Strait of Hormuz and to keep pressure on what he called the regime, insisting that force is the only language Iran’s leadership understands.
This was not his first such demand. When the memorandum of understanding became public, the host on Fox & Friends had already questioned why the officials who drafted a document nobody appeared satisfied with were the ones tasked with negotiating the deal. He described the negotiators then as wasting their time.
Two Rounds, No Breakthrough
Vance first led ceasefire discussions in Islamabad, Pakistan, in April, which ended without a breakthrough. He returned to the diplomatic front this month in Switzerland, following the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the two governments. That agreement has faced immediate strain, with repeated exchanges of fire in the days after it was announced.
Under the framework, hostilities were to halt for a two-month period as Iran gained renewed access to assets that had been frozen and obtained relief from sanctions. The deal also establishes a $300 billion fund earmarked for the country’s reconstruction and economic development. Critics contend the arrangement hands Tehran substantial concessions while securing few immediate guarantees for the United States.
The vice president has, on several occasions, seemed uncertain about the precise contents of the agreement he helped broker. That uncertainty has fueled the doubts voiced by Kilmeade and others in conservative media about whether the current team can deliver a workable outcome.
Despite the setbacks, Vance has publicly defended the plan. He told NBC News that the negotiations set a good foundation for a deal to end the war, and he has maintained that Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon while insisting the conflict is not destined to become a forever war.
A Ceasefire Coming Apart
Any prospect of a permanent halt to the fighting looked distant as the U.S. military struck around 90 targets across Iran in airstrikes on Wednesday. The barrage followed Trump’s declaration that the already-precarious ceasefire was effectively finished after Iran targeted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Within hours, Iranian officials reported fresh attacks, though the United States had not publicly confirmed them. Tehran also launched strikes against American allies throughout the Middle East, prompting security alerts in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and, later, Jordan. Both governments accused each other of violating the temporary truce.
The waterway at the heart of the standoff has become a flashpoint. Reporting from the region indicates the U.S. and Iran are now vying for control of the strait, with Trump signaling a blockade and plans to charge ships for safe passage.
For Vance, the timing could hardly be more fraught. His prominent role defending the Iran plan has unfolded alongside speculation about a possible 2028 presidential run, as detailed in BBC reporting on his emergence as the public face of the effort. The White House was contacted for comment.
With the truce fraying and airstrikes mounting, the pressure from within Murdoch’s orbit adds a domestic political dimension to an already volatile foreign crisis — one that leaves the vice president exposed on two fronts at once.