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WASHINGTON: US Vice President JD Vance has said Iran must make a “meaningful” reduction in its nuclear enrichment capacity if Tehran wants to meet Washington’s demands and reach an agreement to end the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Vance said the United States would require concrete steps from Iran rather than assurances about reducing its nuclear programme in the future.
Vance has played a leading role in US efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict and previously helped broker a provisional peace agreement in June that later collapsed.
Speaking on Monday after a campaign trip to Alaska, Vance said any agreement would require Iran to reduce its enrichment capacity.
“If you don’t want a nuclear weapon, then why do you need 60% enriched fuel?” Vance said, arguing that a reduction in highly enriched fuel would demonstrate Iran’s commitment to not developing nuclear weapons.
“I think if they want to show a commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, they would do something meaningful on their enrichment capacity,” he added.
Iran and the United States have exchanged proposals in recent weeks as part of efforts to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global energy shipments.
US President Donald Trump has rejected Tehran’s latest proposal and warned that military operations could intensify after the November midterm elections.
Vance said Washington remained open to reaching an agreement but expected tangible concessions from Tehran.
“We’re not going to trade words for actions,” he said.
Vance also said Washington remained uncertain about how decisions are made within Iran’s political structure.
He said US officials had been negotiating with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi but questioned how much authority they have within Iran’s broader power structure.
“One of the things we picked up on is it’s not totally clear how their country makes decisions,” Vance said.
Trump separately said his “biggest problem” was that no one knows who is running Iran.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei rejected the suggestion that Washington was unclear about Iran’s decision-making process.
Baghaei said US officials were aware of their Iranian counterparts and understood how the country’s decision-making system worked. He argued that the main problem was what he described as contradictory positions and mixed messages from US officials.
Vance also said he had spoken with military commanders to assess conditions on the battlefield.
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He dismissed concerns about critical US munitions shortages and said Iranian forces had periodically been able to strike commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
However, he said Iranian forces were largely unable to prevent energy exports from continuing through the strategically important waterway.
Vance declined to say whether he was directly leading the peace negotiations, although he is frequently described as one of the White House’s leading negotiators.
“We’re certainly involved,” Vance said, adding that ultimately the US president was directing the negotiations.
The conflict has also become an important political issue in the United States, with the war reportedly costing Washington around $3 billion a month.
Higher energy prices have put pressure on Trump and Republicans in competitive states ahead of the November midterm elections, where control of Congress will be contested.
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