JD Vance Says U.S. And Iran Are ‘Very Close’ To a Deal: ‘We’ve Made a Lot Of Progress Here’

Vice President JD Vance said the U.S. and Iran are “very close” to reaching an an agreement on a memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and begin negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program.

“We’re going back and forth on a couple of language points. We’ve made a lot of progress here,” Vance said when discussing the state of negotiations.

“Hopefully, we’ll continue to make progress and the president will be in a position where he can endorse the agreement, but obviously that’s still TBD,” he added.

The remarks follow a report from Axios detailing that the countries have indeed reached an agreement on the document but still need necessary approval from the top brass. A posterior report noted that Iranian officials said they already have the necessary approval and are prepared to sign.

The piece went on to detail that the memorandum would see “unrestricted” shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and Iran would have to remove all mines from the key waterway within 30 days. The U.S. would also lift its naval blockade as commercial shipping is restored.

Iran would also make a commitment to not pursue a nuclear weapon, officials added. The nuclear program would be discussed during a 60-day period, which would include the disposal of the country’s enriched uranium.

The U.S., in turn, would also commit to discuss sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds, as well as a mechanism to help the country receive goods and humanitarian aid.

Elsewhere in the report, the outlet noted that Trump has relayed to mediators that he wants “a couple of days to think about” the final wording of the deal. Senior officials told the outlet that the president is leaning toward giving his approval but wants to see how the domestic debate about the issue plays out before making a final decision.

Hostilities have continued in the meantime. U.S. forces said this week they shot down four Iran one-way attack drones and targeted a ground control station inside the country that posed a direct threat to them and commercial shipping.

The incident took place near Bandar Abbas, a city near the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier, U.S. ships had tried to cross the key waterway without authorization from Tehran, according to Iranian media cited by NBC News.

A U.S. official told the outlet that the attacks were limited and do not mean major combat operations will be resumed.