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Vance: Hegseth Fight Not About Iran

Nov 10, 2026, 5:26 PM UTC · Fact-checked before it aired. Unconfirmed claims from this segment are not shown.

Vice President Vance has said the impeachment push against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is not about the Iran war, but about Hegseth taking on the Pentagon bureaucracy. [timesofindia.com](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/jd-vance-calls-impeachment-push-against-pete-hegseth-absurd-says-move-is-not-about-iran-war/articleshow/135716704.cms)

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reports that U.S. special envoy Jared Kushner sees the NATO-Russia Council as a model for Europe's postwar security, while European officials insist a Ukraine ceasefire must come first. [foreignpolicy.com](https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/11/09/trump-iran-diplomacy-ukraine-ceasefire-abu-dhabi-talks/)

The Abu Dhabi talks are real, but the reported core dispute is over Donbas control. Axios reports European officials from NATO, the EU, UK, France, Germany and Italy were invited for separate sideline discussions, not excluded. The claim that Russia demanded NATO return to pre-1997 positions is not supported by the available reporting. [axios.com](https://www.axios.com/2026/11/09/ukraine-russia-zelensky-putin-peace-abu-dhabi)

Ignatius reports Kushner wants to revive the NATO-Russia Council model and is calling for broader Russia-Europe talks. [foreignpolicy.com](https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/11/09/trump-iran-diplomacy-ukraine-ceasefire-abu-dhabi-talks/)

The NATO-Russia Council was suspended after Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014; Kushner reportedly wants Russia-Europe talks to run alongside ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine. [foreignpolicy.com](https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/11/09/trump-iran-diplomacy-ukraine-ceasefire-abu-dhabi-talks/)

Fact-check

VERIFIED TRUE

NEW: Vance says Hegseth impeachment vote "isn't about Iran" https://t.co/yOLYHE7b8C
Original post · @axios

Times of India / AP NAMES: Vance = Vice President JD Vance; Hegseth = U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth

VERIFIED TRUE

U.S. special envoy Kushner sees the NATO-Russia Council as a model for Europe’s postwar security, while European officials insist a ceasefire in Ukraine must come first - The Washington Post ▪️ In his column for The Washington Post, David Ignatius notes that Jared Kushner, who ht
Original post · Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en)

Washington Post via Foreign Policy NAMES: Kushner = Jared Kushner, Trump son-in-law and U.S. special envoy

VERIFIED MISLEADING

US-brokered peace talks between Ukraine and Russia opened in Abu Dhabi. Russia demands European security concessions before a ceasefire, including NATO's retreat to its pre-1997 positions. European officials are excluded from the negotiations. https://t.co/llAFCxHs64
Original post · Anonymous (@YourAnonCentral)

Axios NAMES: NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization; EU = European Union

VERIFIED TRUE

❗️According to The Washington Post (David Ignatius’s column, citing a U.S. official), Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner wants to revive the NATO-Russia Council model for post-war security in Europe. He is calling for broader multilateral talks between Russia and Europe on https://
Original post · 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@front_ukrainian)

Washington Post via Foreign Policy NAMES: Kushner = Jared Kushner

VERIFIED TRUE

Jared Kushner wants to revive the NATO-Russia Council model for Europe’s postwar security, The Washington Post reports. The forum was suspended after Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014. He wants talks with Moscow to run alongside ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine.
Original post · medoyid_ua (@LetsArmUKR)

Washington Post via Foreign Policy NAMES: NATO-Russia Council

Sources

VERIFIED TRUE Times of India / AP NAMES: Vance = Vice President JD Vance; Hegseth = U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
VERIFIED TRUE Washington Post via Foreign Policy NAMES: Kushner = Jared Kushner, Trump son-in-law and U.S. special envoy
VERIFIED MISLEADING Axios NAMES: NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization; EU = European Union
VERIFIED TRUE Washington Post via Foreign Policy NAMES: Kushner = Jared Kushner
VERIFIED TRUE Washington Post via Foreign Policy NAMES: NATO-Russia Council

What the hosts said

BAxios just posted on X that Vance says the Hegseth impeachment push 'isn't about Iran.'

BSounds like spin until you hear the rest—it's about Hegseth versus the Pentagon.

BAnd that fight is real. Hegseth has been making enemies inside that building.

BSure, but 'not about Iran' doesn't answer whether the impeachment has any legal basis.

BOh, come on. Right after the Senate changed hands, this lands? The timing is political.

BIf there's a real war-powers problem, we don't ignore it because the timing stinks.

BNo, but let's not pretend it's nonpartisan. Vance is calling it what it is.

BHe's calling it what he wants it to be. That's different.

BHe's saying the bureaucracy is at war with him. That's his claim, and it's worth checking.

BFine. But impeachment isn't about whether you're popular with generals—it's about whether you broke the law.

BAnd nobody has shown that.

BWhich is why it's a fight. Vance wants to frame it before the articles come out.

BThat's a fair point. He's getting ahead of the story.

BRight, and that's what makes me nervous—when the defense is about motive, not facts.

BDifferent world entirely: Jared Kushner is back in the center of European security.

BAnton Gerashchenko posted on X about the Washington Post column—Kushner wants to revive the NATO-Russia Council.

BThat forum has been frozen since 2014, after Russia took Crimea.

BAnd European officials say a ceasefire in Ukraine has to come first. That's their bright line.

BSo why would Kushner float bringing Russia back to a NATO table now?

BBecause there's no direct channel right now. That's how small clashes become big wars.

BNo, no—wait. You don't hand Moscow a seat before it withdraws from Ukraine—that's a reward.

BHe's not handing them a seat. He's talking about a model for after the war.

BThen why leak it during ceasefire talks? It undercuts Ukraine's leverage.

BMaybe it's a signal that there's a future for Russia if they stop fighting.

BThat's exactly the problem. It sounds like NATO moving back to 1997 lines.

BThat part's not true. Axios reports the pre-1997 line isn't supported.

BGood, because that would be a disaster.

BBut even without 1997, reviving the council is a huge concession.

BIt's a model, not a decision. There's a difference.

BModels become policy faster than you think, especially in a negotiation.

BUkraine's allies are right to be nervous. Reviving the council means normalizing Russia.

BNormalizing is how wars end. You need a door open.

BBut not at the cost of Ukraine's borders.

BNobody's saying that. Ceasefire first is the European condition.

BThen Kushner's model is a talking point for later.

BExactly, and that's why it's premature, not surrender.

BSo you're fine with Europe being locked out while Kushner and Moscow talk?

BThey weren't locked out! Axios says European officials were invited for sideline talks.

BThen why are Ukrainian accounts saying they were excluded?

BBecause the main table is U.S.-Russia. The sidelines feel like a consolation prize.

BThat's a real problem—being invited to the hallway isn't the same as having a seat.

BOkay, the optics are terrible.

BSo we agree the framing is bad, but the model idea isn't insane.

BI wouldn't call it insane. I'd call it premature.

BAnd I'd call it necessary before the shooting stops.

BThen we disagree on when, not whether.

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