WASHINGTON, May 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that "a lot of progress" has been made during talks toward a peace deal with Iran as neither side wants to see renewed military actions.
"We think that we've made a lot of progress. We think the Iranians want to make a deal," Vance said at a White House press briefing.
However, the United States remains "locked and loaded" to resume attacks on Iran if talks fail, he said, reiterating that it is Washington's core demand that Tehran never obtain a nuclear weapon.
"We are not going to have a deal that allows the Iranians to have a nuclear weapon," Vance said.
"There's an option B, and the option B is that we could restart the military campaign to continue to prosecute the case, to continue to try to achieve America's objectives," Vance said. "That's not what the president wants. And I don't think it's what the Iranians want either."
When asked if Russia could take possession of Iran's enriched uranium, the vice president said: "That is not currently the plan of the United States government. The Iranians have not raised it."
Vance added that Tehran's negotiating position is unclear, and that the country's leadership is fractured.
U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier Tuesday that several Gulf allies had told him there was progress in negotiations brokered by Pakistan toward a peace deal so he would allow a "limited period of time" -- two or three days -- for talks to continue.
On Monday, Trump said that he had instructed the Pentagon not to launch strikes scheduled on Tuesday on Iran. ■
