U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance said in an exclusive interview with Reuters that Iran must ‌make a “meaningful” reduction in its nuclear enrichment capacity to satisfy U.S. demands and end the countries’ seven-month war, ​even as Washington was unsure how Tehran makes decisions in negotiations.

Mr. Vance, a longtime skeptic of U.S. involvement ⁠in foreign wars, has taken a leading role in negotiating a settlement to the conflict and brokered a provisional peace agreement in June that quickly fell apart. The war has jolted global energy markets and become a political liability for President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans ahead of ‌November midterm elections.

Speaking on Monday (October 5, 2026) after a campaign trip in Alaska, Mr. Vance said any agreement would require Iran to reduce its nuclear enrichment capacity, rather than offer assurances of future nuclear drawdowns.

“If you don’t want a nuclear ‌weapon, then why do you need 60% enriched fuel? And if you want to show commitment to not building a ‌nuclear ⁠weapon, don’t build highly enriched fuel. That’s a very basic threshold issue,” Mr. Vance said.

“I think if they ⁠want to show a commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, they would do something meaningful on their enrichment capacity.”

Iran and the U.S. have exchanged proposals in recent weeks aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy shipping route. Mr. Trump rejected Tehran’s latest offer and has ​warned that military operations could intensify after the midterms.

Mr. Vance ‌said the U.S. remained open to an agreement but would require concrete Iranian nuclear concessions. “We’re not going to trade words for actions,” Vance said.

Unclear how Iran makes decisions: Vance

Complicating matters, Mr. Vance said Washington is uncertain who makes decisions in Tehran.

He said the U.S. was in talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. But it was unclear ‌how much authority they wield within Iran’s power structure, he said, after joint U.S.-Israeli strikes at the start of ​the war killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“One of the things we picked up on is it’s not totally clear how their country makes decisions,” Mr. Vance said. Separately, Mr. Trump said on Tuesday (October 6, 2026) his “biggest ⁠problem” is no one knows who is running Iran.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Sunday that U.S. officials are well aware of who their Iranian counterparts are and how Iran’s decision-making system works. “The problem is actually the opposite: it lies in the contradictory positions and ‌mixed messaging from US officials,” Esmaeil Baghaei told a weekly press conference.

Mr. Vance told Reuters he has held personal conversations with field commanders to gauge battlefield conditions. He dismissed concerns over critical munitions shortages and added that while Iranian troops are periodically able to strike commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, they are largely unable to prevent energy exports through the waterway.

He declined to say if he was leading peace talks, though he is frequently cited as the White House’s top negotiator. “We’re certainly involved,” he said. “Ultimately, the president of the United States is driving things.”

The war — and its $3 billion monthly price tag — has become a key issue on ‌the campaign trail. Higher energy prices have put Mr. Trump and Republicans on the defensive in competitive states that will decide control of Congress.

Mr. Vance has sought ​to temper criticism of Mr. Trump’s handling of the conflict, telling voters they should not let that issue keep them from backing Republicans in next month’s elections.

In Alaska, Mr. Vance rallied for Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, who ⁠is locked in a tight reelection battle with Democratic challenger Mary Peltola. Mr. Trump carried Alaska by 13 percentage points in 2024, but rising ⁠everyday costs have put the state in play.

Before speaking with Reuters, Mr. Vance focused much of his speech on affordability concerns, especially around energy. Alaska’s remote locale makes consumer goods more expensive, and energy production is a key industry.

Rally attendees ‌roared when Sullivan nearly introduced Mr. Vance as the president of the U.S., rather than the vice-president. Mr. Vance is seen as a leading Republican contender to succeed Mr. Trump in the White House.

Mr. Vance told Reuters afterward that he had not decided ​whether to seek the presidency in 2028. “I’m inherently a procrastinator,” he said. “I really haven’t thought about it much.”

Published – October 07, 2026 07:16 am IST

Vice President J.D. Vance reassured Americans on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) that President Donald Trump’s war with Iran will not become ‌a “forever war,” using a White House briefing to defend his boss’s policies as speculation about ​his potential successor builds.

Iran-Israel war LIVE updates- May 20, 2026

Standing in for press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who is on maternity leave, Mr. Vance fielded ⁠questions from journalists for nearly an hour in a mostly measured manner, a contrast to Mr. Trump’s more confrontational style.

He declined to rule out using taxpayer money to compensate people convicted of assaulting police officers during the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. ‌Capitol, dismissed European concerns over Washington scrapping troop deployment to Poland as overblown and called a reporter’s suggestion that Mr. Trump’s recent stock purchases raised corruption concerns “absurd.”

The White House briefing room has emerged this ‌month as an informal audition stage in the race to succeed President Donald Trump in 2028. Mr. Vance’s appearance ‌at ⁠the podium came about two weeks after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, his possible future rival, drew ⁠wide attention for his debut briefing.

“Marco’s right, this really is chaos,” Mr. Vance quipped as reporters who packed the room shouted for his attention.

When a reporter referred to Mr. Vance as “a potential future candidate,” he rushed to correct her.

“I’m not a potential future candidate,” he said. “I’m a ​Vice-President, and I really like my job, and ‌I’m going to try to do as good of a job as I can.”

Iran war presents political test

Mr. Vance, 41, a former Marine who has long argued against U.S. entanglements in foreign wars, on Tuesday (May 19) said any escalation with Tehran in the absence of a diplomatic solution would serve long-term U.S. security interests.

“This is not ‌a forever war,” he said. “We’re going to take care of business and come home.”

The Iran conflict ​is likely to loom over the political futures of both Mr. Rubio and Mr. Vance. Since it began on February 28, it has shut down a large chunk of the global oil trade, ⁠sending U.S. gas prices about 50% higher and raising alarm among Republicans defending congressional majorities in the November midterm elections.

In a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Tuesday (May 19), Mr. Trump’s presidential approval rating fell to nearly its lowest level since he returned to the ‌White House, with many Republicans souring on his handling of Americans’ cost-of-living concerns.

The poll, conducted between May 15-18, showed some 34% of Americans have a favourable view of Mr. Vance and 33% said the same of Mr. Rubio. In January 2025, 42% of respondents in a Reuters/Ipsos poll said they had a favourable view of Mr. Vance.

Even as both men downplay their 2028 ambitions, Mr. Trump has continued to fuel the succession talk. At a Rose Garden dinner last week, the President polled guests on his possible successors.

“Who likes J.D. Vance?” he asked. “Who likes Marco Rubio?”

Both questions drew strong applause. ‌Mr. Trump said the men running together would make “a perfect ticket” but added he was not offering either of them his endorsement.

Mr. Rubio’s recent turn ​at the White House podium drew praise from Mr. Trump. Republicans and even some Democrats noted his smooth performance, which included quips with reporters and a 1990s hip-hop reference to describe Iran’s negotiating ⁠position.

A State Department video capturing his remarks that he hoped America would be a place where “anyone from anywhere can achieve anything” ⁠went viral and fueled further speculation of a 2028 bid.

Mr. Vance, who has spent the last few weeks campaigning across states including Iowa, Maine and Missouri and raising money for Republican candidates, also tried out ‌some humour on Tuesday (May 19) in a reference to his wife, Usha Vance, who is pregnant with their fourth child.

“I told Karoline I would stand in for her today for the White House press briefing on the condition ​that when Usha has our baby in July, that she would be vice president for a couple weeks,” Mr. Vance said

Published – May 20, 2026 11:15 am IST