Vice President JD Vance said in an exclusive interview with Reuters that Iran must make a “meaningful” reduction in its nuclear enrichment capacity to satisfy U.S. demands and end the countries’ seven-month war, even as Washington was unsure how Tehran makes decisions in negotiations. Vance, a longtime skeptic of U.S. involvement in foreign wars, has taken a leading role in negotiating a settlement to the conflict and brokered a provisional peace agreement in June that quickly fell apart. The war has jolted global energy markets and become a political liability for President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans ahead of November midterm elections.
Speaking on Monday after a campaign trip in Alaska, Vance said any agreement would require Iran to reduce its nuclear enrichment capacity, rather than offer assurances of future nuclear drawdowns. “If you don’t want a nuclear weapon, then why do you need 60% enriched fuel? And if you want to show commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, don’t build highly enriched fuel. That’s a very basic threshold issue,” Vance said. “I think if they want to show a commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, they would do something meaningful on their enrichment capacity.” Iran and the U.S. have exchanged proposals in recent weeks aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy shipping route. Trump rejected Tehran’s latest offer and has warned that military operations could intensify after the midterms.
