‘We actually made very clear what our red lines were,’ Vice President JD Vance said.
Vice President JD Vance said on April 13 the United States has made “a lot of progress” in its offer of peace to Iran, leaving it now up to the Iranian regime to decide whether to progress with peace or continue fighting after negotiations in Pakistan ended without a deal.
In an interview with Fox News’s “Special Report,” Vance said the U.S. delegation left Pakistan after 21 hours of talks because the Iranian side was unable to finalize an agreement without approval from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
“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,” Vance said.
“Whether we have further conversations, whether we ultimately get to a deal, I really think the ball is in the Iranian court, because we put a lot on the table. We actually made very clear what our red lines were.”
Those red lines, he said, stem from the “fundamental premise” of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, which will involve the United States taking possession of Iran’s enriched uranium and putting in place a mechanism to ensure that Tehran does not have the ability to enrich uranium.
“Those are really the two things where frankly the Iranians, I think, did make some progress. They moved in our direction, which is why I think we would say that we had some good signs. But they didn’t move far enough,” Vance said.
“So what we decided is, you know what? Given that we don’t think this current team and this current timeline is going to be able to make a deal, let them go back to Tehran, we’re going to go back to Washington, and that’s where we are today.”
Vance, who led the U.S. delegation in the talks, said “a very good deal” benefiting both countries is possible if the Iranians are willing to meet those red lines.
Iranian state media said the U.S. terms had been excessive. State media said Iran’s “nuclear rights” and control over the Strait of Hormuz, a claim not recognized by the international community, were among the points of contention.
