Vance: Iran needs to show ‘meaningful’ reduction in nuclear enrichment for a deal

US Vice President JD Vance says in an exclusive interview with 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 Washington remains unsure how Tehran makes decisions in negotiations.

Vance, a longtime skeptic of US involvement in foreign wars, has taken a leading role in negotiating a settlement to the conflict and brokered a provisional peace agreement in June that quickly fell apart.

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.”

Washington’s “requests and ideas” about Iran’s nuclear program are at odds with Tehran’s demands, a senior Iranian official tells Reuters when asked about Vance’s comment that Tehran must cut enrichment to end the war.

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 says.