Vance says Iran must cut nuclear enrichment to end war with US

Vance, who has long been skeptical of the United States being getting into foreign wars, has led efforts to end the U.S. conflict with Iran including brokering a provisional peace agreement in June that quickly fell apart

By Joseph Weber

Published: October 7, 2026 8:08am

Updated: October 7, 2026 8:10am

Vice President JD Vance says Iran must make a “meaningful” reduction in its nuclear enrichment capacity to meet U.S. demands and end the countries’ seven-month-long war.

Vance made the statement Monday in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with Reuters.

Vance, who has long been skeptical of the United States being getting into foreign wars, has led efforts to end the country's conflict with Iran including brokering a provisional peace agreement in June that quickly fell apart, according to The New York Post.

The war has resulted in higher energy prices around the world including in the U.S. where the high cost of gasoline has become a liability for President Trump and his Republican Party in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Vance said any agreement would require Iran to reduce its nuclear enrichment capacity.

“If you don’t want a nuclear weapon, then why do you need 60% enriched fuel?" he asked. "And if you want to show commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, don’t build highly enriched ⁠fuel. That’s a very basic threshold issue,” Vance said.