Vice President JD Vance said the U.S. and Iran have “made a lot of progress” on negotiations to end the conflict between the two nations.
He left open the possibility of restarting a military campaign in Iran if the country did not agree to never obtain a nuclear weapon.
“We think the Iranians want to make a deal,” Vance said to reporters on Tuesday. “We have an opportunity here to reset the relationship that has existed between Iran and the United States for 47 years.”
Vance suggested negotiators in Iran could be unclear on their objectives .
“It’s not sometimes totally clear what the negotiating position of the team is, and I don’t know if that’s sometimes bad communication, if that’s bad faith,” Vance said. “It’s sometimes hard to figure out exactly what it is that the Iranians want to accomplish out of the negotiation.”
Vance also said he is uncertain of whether Iran will come to a deal. He said he knows Iranian leaders understand they cannot have a nuclear weapon.
“The Iranians recognize that a nuclear weapon is the red line for the United States of America, that they’ve internalized that, but we’re not going to know until we’re actually putting pen to paper on signing a deal,” Vance said. “It’s ultimately up to the Iranians whether they are willing to meet us.”
Vance denounced reports that the U.S. would allow Russia to purchase enriched uranium from Iran as part of a peace deal.
“This is going to go in one of two directions: we’re going to restart the war, which is not the preference of the President of the United States, or we’re going to strike a deal,” Vance said.
Vance said rising gas prices due to the conflict in Iran affecting oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz is “temporary.”
“I feel quite confident after we’ve taken care of business in the Middle East, those prices are going to come down,” Vance said.
Vance emphasized the privacy of the negotiations and said he would not disclose the elements that he and other U.S. negotiators are discussing with Iran.
“This is not going to be the sort of thing that lasts forever,” Vance said. “A big chunk of that has been a cease fire. This is not a forever war. We’re going to take care of business and come home.”
