US Vice President JD Vance has said that Iran must “substantially” cut its uranium enrichment capacity in order to meet Washington’s demands and to stop the seven-month war.
“If you do not want to have a nuclear weapon, then why do you need uranium enriched up to 60%? And if you want to show your commitment to not developing a nuclear weapon, do not produce highly enriched uranium. This is the fundamental issue and the key to everything,” Vance said.
The vice president added that the US is open again to concluding an agreement, but will demand clear concessions from Iran in the nuclear field. According to him, any agreement will require Iran to reduce its uranium enrichment capacity, and not only assurances regarding a further reduction of nuclear programmes.
The US vice president at the same time noted that the situation is complicated by uncertainty over who is making the right decisions in Tehran. The United States is negotiating with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, but it is not clear how broad their powers are within Iran’s political system, especially after the death of the country’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
In response to those statements by the American side, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said. “American officials know well how the decision-making system works in Iran. The problem is the contradictory positions and ambiguous statements of American officials.”
