Vance Says US-Iran Talks Are ‘On the Right Pathway’ But Repeats False Claim About Uranium Enrichment

Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that negotiations between the US and Iran are “on the right pathway,” although he repeated a false claim that no other country in the world besides Iran has a nuclear enrichment program without a nuclear weapons program, a talking point first used by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Several non-nuclear armed states that are signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty enrich uranium at low levels, including Japan, Germany, and Brazil.

“Let me ask this basic question. Which regime in the world has civil nuclear power and enrichment without having a nuclear weapon? And the answer is: no one,” the vice president said at the Munich Leader Conference in Washington.

Vance said that Iran could maintain a civil nuclear program, but his comments about enrichment suggest he’s saying all uranium enrichment must be eliminated, a condition Tehran has strongly rejected.

“We don’t care if people want nuclear power. We’re fine with that, but you can’t have the kind of enrichment program that allows you to get to a nuclear weapon, and that’s where we draw the line,” Vance added.

The 2015 Iran deal, known as the JCPOA, limited Iran’s uranium enrichment at 3.67%, far below the 90% needed for weapons grade, and made its nuclear program subject to the most stringent inspections in the world. Vance criticized the deal, claiming it left open a path to Iranian nuclear weapons.

“We believe that there were some elements of their nuclear program that were preserved under JCPOA that, yes, they weren’t nuclear weapons — Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon — but [it] allowed Iran to sort of stay on this glide path towards a nuclear weapon if they flip the switch and press go,” Vance said.

Vance’s comments come after President Trump said Iran’s nuclear program must be totally dismantled, although he said he was “open” to hearing about the possibility of a civil program.

So far, the US and Iran have held three rounds of negotiations. Talks that were supposed to be held this past weekend were postponed, but Iranian media has reported that another round of negotiations will be held this Saturday in Oman.

In his comments on Wednesday, Vance also referred to President Trump’s threat that if a deal isn’t reached, the US will attack Iran. He said there was a possibility of a deal that would “reintegrate Iran into the global economy,” which he called “Option A.” He added that “Option B” would be “very bad.”

Trump has been threatening to bomb Iran if a deal isn’t reached, even though his intelligence agencies recently reaffirmed that there’s no evidence Tehran is building a bomb or that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reversed his ban on the development of nuclear weapons.