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Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Vance: Iran must cut enrichment to end war, but ‘not totally clear’ how it makes decisions
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US Vice President JD Vance tells Reuters that Iran must make a “meaningful” reduction in its nuclear enrichment capacity to satisfy US demands and end the countries’ seven-month war, even as he says Washington is unsure how Tehran makes decisions in negotiations.
In the interview, conducted on Monday after a campaign trip in Alaska, Vance says any agreement will 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 says. “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 US have exchanged proposals in recent weeks aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy shipping route. US President Donald Trump rejected Tehran’s latest offer and has warned that military operations could intensify after the midterms.
Vance says the US remains open to an agreement but will require concrete Iranian nuclear concessions.
“We’re not going to trade words for actions,” Vance said.
Complicating matters, Vance says Washington is uncertain who makes decisions in Tehran.
“One of the things we picked up on is it’s not totally clear how their country makes decisions,” Vance says. Separately, Trump said on Tuesday his “biggest problem” is no one knows who is running Iran.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Sunday that US officials are well aware of who their Iranian counterparts are and how Iran’s decision-making system works.
Vance declines to say if he is leading peace talks, though he is frequently cited as the White House’s top negotiator.
“We’re certainly involved,” he says. “Ultimately, the president of the United States is driving things.”
The Times of Israel Community.