U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that U.S. President Donald Trump is pursuing a sweeping agreement with Iran rather than a narrower deal.
The Vice President described ongoing negotiations as part of a broader strategy tied to a fragile ceasefire that has been in place for nearly a week.
"What's interesting about this is that we have this ceasefire that's in place. I think it's six or seven days old right now. The ceasefire is holding," Vance said.
Vance said Trump does not want to make "a small deal", noting that a final agreement has not yet been reached, citing the Trump administration’s insistence on strict nuclear conditions.
"The reason why the deal is not yet done is because the president, he really wants a deal where Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon," Vance said.
Vance said there is "a lot of mistrust" between Iran and the U.S.
"You're not going to solve that problem overnight. But yeah, I think the people we're sitting across from wanted to make a deal, and I know the president of the United States told us to go out there and negotiate in good faith. That's what we did. That's what we're going to keep on doing," Vance said.
He added that negotiations would continue, expressing optimism about the potential global impact of a successful agreement.
"We're going to keep on negotiating and try to make it happen, because it would be great for the world. It'd be great for our country, it'd be great for everybody. So I'm going to keep on fighting to make it happen," Vance said.
The U.S. and Iran failed to reach an agreement in Pakistan's capital over the weekend during talks that were part of broader efforts to end a U.S.-Israeli offensive on Iran launched on Feb. 28.
The U.S. and Israel accuse Iran of maintaining nuclear and missile programs that threaten allies in the region, while Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful, denying claims of seeking nuclear weapons.
