‘Locked And Loaded’: JD Vance Says ‘Good Progress’ In Iran Talks, But Warns Forces On Standby
‘Locked And Loaded’: JD Vance Says ‘Good Progress’ In Iran Talks, But Warns Forces On Standby Published By, Last Updated: May 20, 2026, 07:54 IST
‘Locked And Loaded’: JD Vance Says ‘Good Progress’ In Iran Talks, But Warns Forces On Standby Published By, Last Updated: May 20, 2026, 07:54 IST US Vice President JD Vance says Iran talks show good progress but warns the US is locked and loaded to restart war if no deal, insisting Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon United States Vice President JD Vance said Iran will have to accept that it cannot possess nuclear weapons. (Source: Reuters) United States Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday said that their country has made “good progress" in Iran talks but warned that Washington was “locked and loaded" to restart the war in case there is no deal. Vance’s remarks came just hours after President Donald Trump said he had been within an hour of authorising fresh strikes and warned that Tehran had “two or three days" to strike a deal. “A lot of good progress is being made, but we’re just going to keep on working at it, and eventually we’ll either hit a deal or we won’t," Vance said in a briefing at the White House. Vance, who is an Iran war-skeptic, had led a US delegation which had visited Pakistan in April for talks that had not ended with any deal. “We’re in a pretty good spot here — but there’s an option B, and the option B is that we could restart the military campaign," he said. Also Read: ‘I Was An Hour Away’: Trump Says Gulf States’ Calls Halted New Iran Strike At Last Minute “We’re locked and loaded.
We don’t want to go down that pathway, but the president is willing and able to go down that pathway if we have to," the vice-president added. Iran Can Never Have Nukes: JD Vance Vance said that Iran will have to accept that it cannot possess a nuclear weapon. He added that if Iran had an atomic weapon, it would trigger a “nuclear arms race" worldwide. “We just don’t want them (Iran) to have a nuclear weapon. We have effectively degraded their conventional military capability. The President has told us to aggressively negotiate with the Iranians. Why do you think I went to Islamabad, Pakistan? Why did I spend probably 22 hours on a plane going there, 24 hours coming back, and then 21 hours on the ground, negotiating with the Iranians, is because we wanted to show a sign of good faith…We are not going to have a deal that allows the Iranians to have a nuclear weapon," Vance said. Also Read: ‘We’re Going To End That War Very Quickly’: Trump Warns Iran Of Fresh Strikes As Talks Advance “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon… Iran would really be the first domino in what would set off a nuclear arms race all over the world. That’s very, very bad for the safety of our country," the vice-president added. Vance Calls Iran ‘Fractured Country’, Says US Wants Fewer Nuke States US vice-president said that Iran is a complicated and fractured country and that they are not clear about which direction they want to go.
“Iran is a complicated country, and I don’t pretend to fully understand it… Iranians are not themselves quite clear in which direction they want to go, and they are also a fractured country," he said. Vance further added that he doesn’t want his three kids to inherit a world where 20 additional regimes have nuclear weapons. “As the father of three young kids, I don’t want them to inherit a world where 20 additional regimes, half of them very dangerous and very sympathetic to terrorists, have nuclear weapons," said the US vice-president. Also Read: Iran’s Araghchi Warns Return To War Will Feature ‘Many More Surprises’, Cites US Congressional Report “We want to keep the number of countries that have nuclear weapons small, and that’s why Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon on top of all the other things that we might be worried about," he added. ‘An Hour Away’: Trump On Planned Iran Strike US President Donald Trump on Tuesday revealed that Washington had been on the verge of launching another military strike on Iran, saying he was “an hour away" from giving the go-ahead before Gulf states stepped in to push for more diplomatic efforts. Addressing reporters at the White House, Trump said Gulf nations such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE reached out to the US administration after learning that preparations for the attack were underway, urging Washington to allow additional time for negotiations. “I was an hour away. We were all set to go… it would have been happening right now," he said.
Also Read: US Senate Advances Resolution To Limit Trump’s Authority For Military Action Against Iran US-Iran Peace Talks Diplomatic channels remained active this week as both sides traded new proposals aimed at ending the conflict. Tehran reportedly put forward a 14-point framework seeking compensation, relief on sanctions affecting its oil exports, and acknowledgement of its control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. In response, the US pushed for tighter restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities, including handing over the bulk of its suspected 440-kg stockpile of 60% enriched uranium. Although the ceasefire announced earlier has broadly remained in place, tensions persist, with both sides accusing each other of breaches and acting in bad faith. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location: Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: May 20, 2026, 07:33 IST News world ‘Locked And Loaded’: JD Vance Says ‘Good Progress’ In Iran Talks, But Warns Forces On Standby Disclaimer: Comments reflect users’ views, not News18’s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments...
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