THE WASHINGTON POST: J.D. Vance says Iran agrees to nuclear inspections, as under Obama deal
The US Vice President hailed Tehran’s move as the first step in ‘permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran’.
Vice President JD Vance said Iran agreed to allow international inspections of its nuclear program, which would restore a safeguard from President Barack Obama’s deal with Tehran that President Donald Trump threw out.
“That is a major milestone for the American people, and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran,” Mr Vance said Monday at a news conference at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland. US and Iranian officials are working with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan to turn last week’s fragile ceasefire into a more comprehensive peace agreement. Mr Vance said he would return home soon as technical talks moved forward.
The Iranians threatened to walk out Sunday after Trump warned the US may “hit Iran very hard again,” Mr Vance said. But the negotiators stayed past 1am local time, and their team of technical experts was still present, Mr Vance said.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“What we told the Iranians yesterday is when you guys engage in what us millennials might call trash talk, you can’t expect the President of the United States not to respond and not to correct the record,” Mr Vance said. He denied that Mr Trump’s threat threw “a wrench into the system.”
The ceasefire memorandum that Mr Trump signed at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday gave the US and Iran 60 days to resolve their hardest disputes, including the fate of Iran’s uranium stockpile and the Strait of Hormuz. Over the weekend, Israeli attacks in Lebanon tested the deal as Iran threatened to close the strait, a major choke point for global oil and gas shipments.
The ceasefire called for an end to Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government did not sign the agreement, however, and has criticised it, and US intelligence warned he would probably undermine it by continuing the attacks. On Sunday, Mr Trump accused Iran-backed Hezbollah militants of “causing trouble” in Lebanon.
Mr Vance on Monday said negotiators were in contact with officials from Israel and Lebanon, as well as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and were working to set up a direct line of communication to address conflicts. He said Israel’s troop presence in southern Lebanon was still being discussed and would require coordination with the Lebanese armed forces and Iranian pressure on Hezbollah.
The Strait of Hormuz remains open, Mr Vance said, and Sunday’s negotiations focused on a “mechanism” for keeping it open. US officials have said they oppose any Iranian tolls, though Mr Trump on Saturday floated the idea of the US charging them if the deal falls through.
Conversations with inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency could happen as soon as Monday, local time, Mr Vance said. The IAEA was responsible for monitoring Iran’s compliance with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Obama nuclear deal that Mr Trump frequently condemned.
After Mr Trump terminated that agreement in 2018, Iran blocked IAEA access to some sites. Inspectors have not been allowed to verify the state of Iran’s enriched uranium since the U.S. bombed nuclear sites last year.
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