U.S. Vance Says Iran-U.S. Islamabad Talks Yielded Progress

(MENAFN) US Vice President JD Vance declared Monday that weekend nuclear negotiations with Iran yielded meaningful advances, while issuing a pointed warning that Tehran's failure to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz could derail the diplomatic process entirely.

"I wouldn't just say that things went wrong. I also think things went right. We made a lot of progress," Vance told media.

The Vice President said Washington used the talks to sharpen its negotiating stance, outlining the "things we absolutely needed to see for the president of the United States to feel like he was getting a good deal."

Yet he framed Iran's willingness to bend as the defining variable going forward: "The big question from here is whether the Iranians will have enough flexibility, whether the Iranians will accept the critical things that we need to see in order for things to get done."

On the question of red lines, Vance was unambiguous: "What the president of the United States has said is number one, Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. So, all of our red lines flow from that fundamental premise."

He identified the Strait of Hormuz — a critical artery for global energy supplies — as a key benchmark, warning: "Our expectation is that the Iranians are going to continue to make progress to opening the Straits of Hormuz, and if they don't, it's going to fundamentally change the negotiation that we have with them."

Vance made clear that Washington's position on Iran's nuclear program carries zero room for compromise: "We must have the enriched material out of Iran. We must have their conclusive commitment to not develop a nuclear weapon," stressing that "the ball is very much in their court."

Offering a candid assessment of why the Islamabad session concluded without a deal, Vance said: "I do think that we acquired some knowledge about how the Iranians are negotiating, and this is ultimately why we left Pakistan."

He suggested Iranian negotiators lacked the authority to finalize terms on the spot: "I think the team that was there was unable to cut a deal, and they had to go back to Tehran, either from the supreme leader or somebody else, and actually get approval to the terms that we had set."

The direct talks, held over the weekend in Islamabad, Pakistan, ended without an agreement — following a two-week ceasefire brokered earlier this month. The engagement nonetheless marked the most senior-level diplomatic contact between Washington and Tehran since 1979, even as core disputes remain unresolved.

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