US Keeps Military Option Alive As Iran Talks Near A Critical Test

(Alex Raufoglu – RFE/RL) US Vice President JD Vance has again signaled that the White House is prepared to use force against Iran if diplomacy fails, raising the stakes around a 60-day memorandum of understanding (MOU) that has halted open hostilities but left the core disputes unresolved. In an interview on The Michael Knowles Show released on June 30, Vance cast the US approach toward Iran as a stark choice: a longer-term agreement anchored in permanent, verifiable nuclear inspections, or renewed military action to preserve what Washington sees as gains already secured. He said President Donald Trump wants diplomacy to continue but only if Tehran accepts enforceable limits on its nuclear program. Vance described Iran’s public messaging as contradictory, pointing to what he said was a gap between Tehran’s public denial of peace talks and its acknowledgment of ongoing technical discussions. “They’ll say, ‘No, no, there aren’t peace talks ongoing, but there are technical talks between the United States and Iran about the peace deal,'” Vance said. “It’s a Persian negotiating tactic and a Persian rhetorical device that I don’t understand”. Responding to critics who have urged a harder military line, Vance defended Trump’s approach as one of calibrated coercion rather than open-ended escalation. “The president is saying, ‘I’m willing to drop bombs,’ and he’s clearly shown that he’s willing to drop bombs, but only if it serves an objective,” he said. In a separate interview with Fox News, Vance said Washington was focused less on rhetoric than on whether Tehran was prepared to make “real concessions”, “We care a lot less about what the Iranians say. We care a lot more about what they do,” he said. The remarks come as uncertainty hangs over the next phase of negotiations. Iranian negotiators did not meet US envoys in Doha on June 30 as expected, clouding hopes that the current cease-fire framework could quickly evolve into a broader settlement. Back in Washington, analysts warn the current arrangement amounts less to a peace agreement than a temporary pause in fighting. – US Keeps Military Option Alive As Iran Talks Near A Critical Test