Iran talks in Pakistan made 'a lot of progress', says Vance

US Vice President JD Vance has said that talks with Iran in Pakistan made "a lot of progress" but warned that a failure to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz could "fundamentally change" the course of negotiations.

"I wouldn't just say that things went wrong. I also think things went right. We made a lot of progress," Vance said in an interview with Fox News on Monday.

He said Washington also clarified its negotiating position during the talks, including the "things we absolutely needed to see for the president of the United States to feel like he was getting a good deal."

"The big question from here is whether the Iranians will have enough flexibility, whether the Iranians will accept the critical things that we need to see in order for things to get done," he added.

Asked about the US' red lines, Vance responded: "What the president of the United States has said is number one, Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. So, all of our red lines flow from that fundamental premise."

He said the US expects Iran to continue steps toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, calling it critical for global economic stability.

"Our expectation is that the Iranians are going to continue to make progress to opening the Straits of Hormuz, and if they don't, it's going to fundamentally change the negotiation that we have with them," he said.

'Ball in their court'

Vance stressed Washington has "no flexibility" on key nuclear issues, including removing Iran's enriched uranium stockpile and ensuring strict verification measures to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

"We must have the enriched material out of Iran. We must have their conclusive commitment to not develop a nuclear weapon," he said, adding that "the ball is very much in their court."

"I do think that we acquired some knowledge about how the Iranians are negotiating, and this is ultimately why we left Pakistan," he said.

"I think the team that was there was unable to cut a deal, and they had to go back to Tehran, either from the supreme leader or somebody else, and actually get approval to the terms that we had set," he added.

The US and Iran held direct talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, over the weekend, but they ended without an agreement.

The talks followed a two-week ceasefire announced earlier this month.

The negotiations in Pakistan marked the highest-level engagement between the US and Iran since 1979, though key disputes remained unresolved.