WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday he believes progress is being made in negotiations with Iran to end hostilities, after President Donald Trump rejected Tehran's latest proposal as unacceptable.
"I think that we are making progress. The fundamental question is do we make enough progress that we satisfy the President's red line?" Vance told reporters at the White House. "And the red line is very simple. He needs to feel confident that we put a number of protections in place such that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon."
Vance brushed aside concerns over President Donald Trump’s comments about not thinking “about Americans’ financial situations” while negotiating with Iran — calling it a “misrepresentation of what the president said” and backing Trump’s goals of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
When asked at if he agrees with Trump’s statements on Tuesday, Vance said, “I don’t think the president said that — I think that’s a misrepresentation of what the president said.”
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump said “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations, I don’t think about anybody” when going into negotiations with Iran, and instead was only concerned with preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, even as inflation has increased and gas prices have soared as a result of the Iran war.
Vance said he agreed with Trump’s position that “Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.”
The vice president said the US was “engaged in a very aggressive and very engaged diplomatic process” to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuke, with the “fundamental goal” of keeping Americans safe.