US Vice President Vance says Iran must cut enrichment to end war

US Vice President JD Vance has said that Iran must make a “meaningful” reduction in its nuclear enrichment capacity to satisfy US demands and end the country’s seven-month war, even as Washington was unsure how Tehran makes decisions in negotiations.Vance, a longtime sceptic 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 September that quickly fell apart.In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Vance said any agreement would 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 said."I think if they want to show a commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, they would do something meaningful on their enrichment capacity."Vance said the US remained open to an agreement but would require concrete Iranian nuclear concessions."We're not going to trade words for actions," Vance said.Unclear how Tehran makes decisionsVance said Washington is uncertain who makes decisions in Tehran.The US vice president said that White House was in talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

But it was unclear how much authority they wield within Iran's power structure, he said, after joint US-Israeli strikes at the start of the war killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei."One of the things we picked up on is it's not totally clear how their country makes decisions," Vance said.

Separately, Trump said on Tuesday his "biggest problem" is no one knows who is running Iran.Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday that US officials are well aware of who their Iranian counterparts are and how Iran's decision-making system works.Vance told Reuters he has held personal conversations with field commanders to gauge battlefield conditions.He dismissed concerns over critical munitions shortages and added that while Iranian troops are periodically able to strike commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, they are largely unable to prevent energy exports through the waterway.The war — and its $3 billion monthly price tag — has become a key issue on the campaign trail.

Higher energy prices have put Trump and Republicans on the defensive in competitive states that will decide control of Congress.Vance is seen as a leading Republican contender to succeed Trump in the White House.Vance told Reuters afterwards that he had not decided whether to seek the presidency in 2028."I'm inherently a procrastinator," he said. "I really haven't thought about it much."