Vice President JD Vance voiced some doubts Tuesday that negotiations with Iran would yield a diplomatic end to the war.
Vance stepped in for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who is on maternity leave, and fielded questions Tuesday about the situation in Iran.
“Iran is a very complicated country. It’s a country that I wouldn’t pretend that I understand,” he told reporters just one day after President Donald Trump supposedly called off an attack against Iranian targets to allow more time for ceasefire negotiations.
“I personally believe that the honest answer is, how could I possibly know, right?” he said when asked what makes him believe Iran is not stringing the president along. “You negotiate with people, and sometimes you feel like you’re making progress, and sometimes you feel like you’re not making progress. What I think is that the Iranians want to make a deal.”
Vance claimed that “the Iranians recognize that a nuclear weapon is the red line for the United States of America,” but clarified that “we’re not going to know until we’re actually putting pen to table on signing it.”
“I will not say with confidence that we’re going to reach a deal until we’re actually signing a negotiated settlement here,” he said. “We’re going to have to see what ultimately happens with them. I can’t say with confidence because I don’t know what’s in the mind of the other side.”
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You can watch Vance’s comments in full below.