US Vice-President JD Vance said Iran must make a “substantial” cut to its uranium-enrichment capabilities to meet Washington’s demands and reach an agreement ending the war between the two countries, now in its seventh month, stressing that the United States wants immediate, practical steps rather than pledges to make a future reduction.
Vance links agreement to Iranian enrichment cut
Vance made the comments in an interview following a campaign tour of Alaska, where he said any potential agreement would require an actual reduction in Iran’s nuclear-enrichment capacity. He said: “If you don’t want a nuclear weapon, why do you need fuel enriched to 60%, and if you want to demonstrate a commitment not to build a nuclear weapon, don’t make highly enriched fuel. This is an extremely fundamental issue.”
The US Vice-President added that he believed Iran, if it wanted to prove its commitment not to build a nuclear weapon, would have to take concrete measures concerning its enrichment capabilities. He stressed that the United States remained open to reaching an agreement, but would tie this to verifiable Iranian nuclear concessions, saying: “We will not substitute words for deeds.”
Vance, who has long been sceptical of US involvement in foreign wars, has played a leading role in negotiations aimed at settling the conflict. He also mediated an interim agreement reached in September, but it quickly collapsed and did not end the confrontation.
Proposals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
Iran and the United States have exchanged proposals in recent weeks aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy shipments. But US President Donald Trump rejected Tehran’s latest offer and warned that military operations could escalate after the congressional midterm elections scheduled for November.
Vance said one factor complicating the negotiations was Washington’s uncertainty over who makes decisions in Tehran. He said the United States was holding talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, but noted that it was unclear how much authority they wielded within Iran’s governing structure.
Vance linked this uncertainty to changes that followed joint US and Israeli strikes at the start of the war, which resulted in the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He said: “One of the things we have noticed is that it is not entirely clear how their country makes decisions.”
Trump said on Tuesday that his “biggest problem” was that nobody knew who was running Iran. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei rejected these claims, however, saying on Sunday that US officials knew their Iranian counterparts well and understood how Iran’s decision-making system operated.
US-Iranian dispute over decision-making process
He added during a weekly press conference: “The problem is actually exactly the opposite: it lies in the contradictory positions and conflicting messages coming from US officials.” Regarding developments on the ground, Vance said he had personally spoken with battlefield commanders to assess the situation on the front.
He also dismissed concerns about a severe ammunition shortage, explaining that Iranian forces occasionally manage to target commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, but are largely unable to halt energy exports passing through the waterway. The war has cast a shadow over global energy markets and become a political burden for Trump and his Republican colleagues ahead of the midterm elections.
The war costs three billion dollars a month, while rising energy prices have forced the US president and Republicans to defend their policies in closely contested states, whose results will determine which party controls Congress.
War puts pressure on Republicans ahead of elections
During his tour, Vance sought to ease criticism of Trump’s handling of the conflict, urging voters not to let the issue prevent them from supporting Republicans in next month’s elections. In Alaska, he held a rally in support of Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, who is in a close re-election race against his Democratic challenger Mary Peltola.
Trump won Alaska by 13 percentage points in the 2024 election, but rising daily living costs have made the outcome of the current contest in the state uncertain. Vance is regarded as one of the leading potential Republican candidates to succeed Trump in the White House.
Regarding his political plans, Vance said he had not yet decided whether to run for president in 2028. He added: “I am by nature someone who tends to be cautious. I really haven’t thought about it much.”
