US enrichment stance unclear as Vance urges 'meaningful' Iran cuts
It's unclear whether Vice President Vance was signaling a retreat from earlier demands of zero enrichment in a final deal or describing preliminary steps Iran would need to take to end the war.
WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance called for Iran to make a “meaningful” reduction in its uranium enrichment capacity as part of talks to end the seven-month war, raising questions about whether the Trump administration has abandoned its demand for zero enrichment.
“I think if they want to show a commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, they would do something meaningful on their enrichment capacity,” Vance said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday.
“If you don't want a nuclear weapon, then why do you need 60% enriched fuel?” Vance said. “If you want to show commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, don't build highly enriched fuel.”
Iran’s uranium enrichment was brought to a standstill as a result of the US strikes on its Isfahan, Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities in June 2025. Tehran has since denied international inspectors access to those sites as well as an underground facility known as Pickaxe Mountain, preventing the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog from verifying what remains of the country's prewar stockpile of an estimated 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium.
