United States Vice President JD Vance has called for Iran to make a “meaningful” reduction in its uranium enrichment capacity as part of an agreement to end the war, a demand experts say may signal a softening of Washington’s earlier insistence that Tehran abandon enrichment altogether.
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Tehran → call → enrichment
His comments come amid hardline rhetoric from other senior US officials.
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comments → come → officials
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reiterated that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, while President Donald Trump has warned the war will end through either “the nice way or the not-so-nice way”.
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war → reiterate → way
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ceasefire → look → protests
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Officials in Tehran, meanwhile, have questioned whether Washington genuinely wants negotiations as the US-Israel war on Iran enters its eighth month.
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war → spread → month
As both sides stake out their positions, Simon Mabon, a professor of international relations at Lancaster University, told Al Jazeera that the prospect of Iran seeking a nuclear weapon has remained remote.
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Iran → stake → weapon
Tehran’s negotiators are more concerned with sanctions, frozen Iranian assets, the US naval blockade and fighting across the region – issues he says remain the main obstacles to a deal.
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he → say → deal
Here is what we know.
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we → know → what
What has the US said?
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US → say → What
Vance told the Reuters news agency that Iran needed to demonstrate its commitment to not developing nuclear weapons by changing its enrichment programme.
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Iran → tell → programme
“If you don’t want a nuclear weapon, then why do you need 60 percent enriched fuel?” he said.
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he → want → fuel
“If you want to show commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, don’t build highly enriched fuel.
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you → want → fuel
That’s a very basic threshold issue.”
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That → ’ → ?
Enriching uranium makes it usable as fuel for nuclear reactors or, at much higher levels, for nuclear weapons.
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it → enrich → weapons
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran had enriched uranium to 60 percent, below the roughly 90 percent considered weapons-grade.
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Iran → report → grade
In its May 2025 assessment, it found no credible indications of a structured nuclear programme.
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it → find → programme
Vance added that the US was speaking with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, although “it’s not totally clear how their country makes decisions”.
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country → add → decisions
Meanwhile, Rubio, speaking to reporters in Athens, accused Iran of missing several opportunities to reach an agreement.
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Rubio → speak → agreement
“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, simple, period, end of story,” he said.
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he → have → story
He also claimed Iran had “lost complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz and that its economy was “in total and complete freefall”.
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economy → claim → freefall
Under “crippling” sanctions, it was “about to reach a place few countries in the world have been”, he argued.
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he → cripple → world
Analysts say the comments suggest pressure on Tehran remains central to Washington’s approach, even as Vance’s wording leaves open questions about what nuclear restrictions it would accept.
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it → say → restrictions
What has Iran said?
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Iran → say → What
Pezeshkian said on Monday that negotiations with Washington were “futile”, accusing the US of using talks while pursuing Iran’s government.
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negotiations → say → government
“Our problem with the United States is that every time we come to the negotiating table, war is immediately imposed upon us,” he said during a meeting with Armenia’s foreign minister.
“They have attacked us three times following talks so far; this demonstrates that they do not seek dialogue.
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they → come → dialogue
On the contrary, their goal is to bring down the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
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he → bring → agency
“With an enemy that resorts daily to assassination, sanctions, pressure and threats – and breaks its promises – negotiations become futile, and our nation will not accept such an approach.”
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nation → resort → approach
However, Araghchi, addressing foreign ambassadors in Tehran on October 4, said, “Only negotiations based on justice and fairness” could end the conflict, suggesting there is still room for negotiations to continue and a deal to follow.
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negotiations → address → conflict
The statements follow an Iranian proposal presented during the United Nations General Assembly in New York in late September to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume negotiations.
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statements → follow → negotiations
Trump subsequently rejected it.
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Trump → reject → it
How does this compare with previous proposals?
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this → compare → proposals
Iran’s latest proposal sought to build on the June 17 memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries, which briefly eased the conflict before breaking down.
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which → seek → conflict
The new proposal, offered a few weeks ago, essentially compressed the timetable and changed the sequence of steps towards a settlement.
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proposal → offer → settlement
The proposal outlined that fighting would stop on all fronts, including Israel’s offensive in Lebanon.
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fighting → outline → Lebanon
Washington would lift its naval blockade and oil sanctions, and release frozen Iranian assets.
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Washington → lift → assets
The Strait of Hormuz would reopen after seven days, followed by negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.
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Strait → reopen → programme
Experts say the proposal could have offered Trump a route to restoring shipping ahead of November’s US midterm elections.
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proposal → say → elections
But differences over the sequence of events remain unresolved.
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differences → remain → events
However, Mabon told Al Jazeera that Washington’s focus on enrichment risked overlooking Tehran’s priorities.
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focus → tell → priorities
“The US is trying to soften its stance on the nuclear question with the Iranians, but for the Iranians, this isn’t the real sticking point.
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this → try → Iranians
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
