US Vice President Says Negotiations with Iran Going Well in Some Respects
Washington (ANTARA) - United States Vice President JD Vance said the second round of negotiations with Iran was productive in some respects, but that Tehran was not yet willing to engage in discussions on a number of “red lines” set by President Donald Trump.
Vance, speaking on Tuesday (17/2), did not specify which “red lines” the Iranian government had refused to discuss, but he affirmed that the United States’ primary interest was to prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons.
“In some ways, it went well. They agreed to meet afterwards. But in other ways, it is very clear that the president has set a number of red lines that the Iranian side has not yet been willing to acknowledge and discuss,” the vice president said in an interview with Fox News.
“We will continue to work on it. But of course, the president has the right to determine when diplomacy has reached its natural limit. We hope it doesn’t come to that point, but if it does, that will be the president’s decision,” he added.
The Iranian delegation was led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, whilst the American team was led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Araghchi said progress had been made in Geneva and described the atmosphere of the negotiations as more constructive.
“It was decided that both sides would work on a draft of a potential agreement, and after exchanging texts, the timing for the next round of talks would be determined,” Araghchi said.
Iran’s top diplomat added that there was a clear path forward for nuclear negotiations with the American side, which was viewed positively from Iran’s perspective.
On 6 February, Oman hosted the first round of indirect talks in Muscat. The talks were the first since Trump ordered strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June.
Since then, Trump has directed an increase in US military strength in the region whilst threatening Iran to reach an agreement with Washington.
Source: Anadolu