US Vice President J.D. Vance said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump is still seeking a diplomatic agreement with Iran but remains “prepared” to resume military action if nuclear talks fail.Speaking to reporters during a White House news conference, Vance said the Trump administration is continuing negotiations in good faith while making clear that Iran will never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.“It takes two people to tango,” Vance said.He added, according to Fox News: “We will not reach an agreement that allows the Iranians to possess a nuclear weapon.” Quoting Trump, the US Vice President also warned that Washington is ready to resume military action if diplomacy collapses.“So, as the president just told me, we are ready and prepared,” Vance said.He added: “We do not want to go down this path. But the president is ready and able to go down this path if we have to.”Vance said the administration currently sees two possible outcomes: a negotiated settlement or resumption of military action.He added: “We believe that the Iranians want to reach an agreement.”He added, “The President of the United States asked us to negotiate in good faith.
“And that’s exactly what we did,” he added.However, he stressed that diplomacy would not harm Washington’s basic demand regarding the Iranian nuclear program.“There is Option B, and Option B is that we can resume the military campaign to continue to prosecute the case, to continue trying to achieve America’s goals,” Vance said.He added, “But this is not what the president wants. And I don’t think this is what the Iranians want either.”These statements came a day after Trump announced that he had temporarily halted plans to launch a major military strike against Iran because the talks between the two sides showed signs of progress.“We were preparing to do a very major attack, and I put it off for a while — and hopefully forever,” Trump said at the White House on Monday.He added: “There seems to be a very good chance that they can come up with something.”Trump also said he would prefer a diplomatic breakthrough rather than military escalation.The US President said: “If we can do this without bombing them, I will be very happy.”During Tuesday’s briefing, Vance also rejected suggestions that any future conflict with Iran would turn into a protracted military clash.He added: “This is not a forever war.”“We’ll take care of business and go home,” he added.The vice president also said that the United States and Iran have made “a lot of progress” in the talks, and reiterated that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons remains Washington’s main goal.Vance said: “We want to keep the number of countries that possess nuclear weapons small, and that is why Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon.”
