Vance talks negotiations, won’t commit to not returning to full-fledged war

Vice President JD Vance said talks are going well in Doha, but would not take a return to full-scale military action off the table, saying it lies in the hands of Iran.

“I can’t commit to anything, because obviously it depends on what the Iranians are ultimately going to do,” Vance told reporters after speaking to Marines at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia. “As I said up there, what I can commit to is the president’s not going to send our military back in unless he has to, unless there’s a clearly defined purpose for it.”

“If we’ve got to do more, of course, that’s kind of up to the Iranians,” he added. “If they try to rebuild their nuclear program, if they try to start shooting at commercial vessels again, that’s going to change our calculus. But right now, what the president has said is, ‘Go and make a deal, go and negotiate in good faith,’ and that’s what he’s empowered us to do.”

Vance’s comments also seemed to indicate conversations specific to the Iranian nuclear program had not yet begun.

“Obviously, we’re worried about the nuclear issue, we’re going to start talking about that,” Vance said. “So right now the talks are going well, it’s still pretty early, but talks are going well.”

Vance also outlined a familiar list of conditions that could lead the U.S. to restart military action against Iran.

“If they try to rebuild that nuclear program, if they refuse to let inspections in, if they … resume shooting commercial vessels, which they have stopped for a few days, then obviously the president still has a lot of options on the table,” Vance said.