US Vice President JD Vance took a swipe at Pakistan, joking about the country’s lack of press freedom while explaining the delayed publication of the US-Iran deal. He said Pakistan does not have press freedom comparable to the United States.
Speaking in a podcast, Vance said that Washington took time to publish the full text of the agreement partly because countries involved in diplomatic mediation, including Pakistan and Qatar, do not operate under the same press freedom framework as the US. He further said the United States Constitution’s First Amendment ensures strong protections for free speech and press freedom, which influence expectations around transparency in government decisions. He added that in such systems, there is less expectation that official documents will be immediately available for public scrutiny and analysis.
The MoU between the US and Iran was announced earlier by US President Donald Trump, with the official text released two days later following public scrutiny and political debate in Washington.
Vance’s remarks have once again drawn attention to Pakistan’s press freedom record, with the country ranked 153 out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index. He also referenced broader differences in media environments, suggesting that transparency norms vary significantly between democratic systems like the United States and other countries involved in diplomatic negotiations.
The comments come at a time when Pakistan has faced scrutiny over its role in facilitating aspects of the US-Iran understanding, which it had publicly described as a diplomatic success. Separately, the US Vice President also defended key elements of the agreement, saying Iran had agreed to reduce its enriched uranium stockpile in exchange for economic relief measures.
Vance also clarified that no US government funds would be directly allocated to Iran under the agreement, stating that any economic benefits would depend on external investment and conditions tied to political reforms.