Vice President JD Vance said it’s up to Iran whether there are more direct talks with the US.
“It’s a question that would be best put to the Iranians because the ball really is in their court,” Vance told Fox News’ Bret Baier on Monday.
“We must have their conclusive commitment to not develop a nuclear weapon. And I think that if the Iranians are willing to meet us there, then this can be a very, very good deal for both countries. If they’re not willing to meet us there, that’s up to them,” he said.
The vice president added that the Iranian team in Pakistan was not in a position to “cut a deal,” which is why he said the US left after 21 hours of negotiations.
“I do think that we acquired some knowledge about how the Iranians are negotiating — and this is ultimately why we left Pakistan. Because what we figured out is that they were unable, 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 said set.”
He added that progress was made — but not enough on removing Iran’s enriched uranium and ensuring Tehran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
“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, putting the onus on Iran to come back to the table.
“There really is, I think, a grand deal to be had here, but it’s up to the Iranians, I think, to take the next step.”
