US Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday that nuclear negotiations with Iran show encouraging signs, yet he warned that Washington stands ready to restart military operations if talks collapse.
“A lot of good progress is being made, but we’re just going to keep on working at it, and eventually we’ll either hit a deal or we won’t,” Vance told a White House briefing.
His remarks came hours after President Donald Trump said he came within one hour of ordering fresh strikes on Iran, though he consequently gave Tehran “two or three days” to reach an agreement.
Military Option Remains on the Table
Vance, a known sceptic of military action against Iran, nevertheless left no doubt about Washington’s resolve. “We’re in a pretty good spot here, but there’s an option B, and the option B is that we could restart the military campaign,” he said. “We’re locked and loaded. We don’t want to go down that pathway, but the president is willing and able to go down that pathway if we have to.”
The US demands Iran abandon uranium enrichment entirely, with Iran, however, offering only a three-to-five-year suspension. Tehran refuses to negotiate over its ballistic missile program and support for regional armed groups, both central US demands.
Talks Enter a Critical Phase
The two sides have held multiple rounds of negotiations since February 2026, with Oman mediating throughout. Vance himself led a US delegation to Islamabad in April, but those talks ended without agreement. Gulf states including Saudi Arabia and the UAE broadly support a deal, analysts note.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner lead the US negotiating team. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has called earlier sessions “constructive,” yet Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently rejected Washington’s latest proposal, dismissing its demands as “excessive and outrageous.”
Furthermore, both sides remain far apart on enrichment, and analysts warn that time grows short.
