WASHINGTON, November 3. /TASS/. US Vice President JD Vance said that "some progress" had been made in consultations between the United States and Iran on ending the conflict.
"Well, we’ve had a number of good conversations with the Iranians. I actually just spoke with the president of the United States [Donald Trump]," he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews near Washington. "We’ve certainly made some progress. We’ll see if we can make some more," Vance added.
"The president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement. We’re going to keep on working at it," he stressed. At the same time, Vance noted: "The Iranians are always a little unpredictable". He clarified that Trump does not rule out the possibility of resuming strikes against Iran in the future, as well as taking other measures against the Islamic Republic.
Earlier, when asked by reporters after an address in Washington whether he intended to launch the strikes, Trump answered in the negative.
He said that believes that Iran and the United States can reach an agreement that would bring an end to hostilities in the Middle East. On October 8, the US leader said that the United States did not intend to strike Iran before the midterm elections to Congress.
Axios reported on November 1 that the US president did not intend at this stage to resume military action against Iran immediately after the midterm elections to Congress, which will be held on November 3.
The United States and Israel began the war with Iran on February 28. Washington and Tehran signed the memorandum of understanding in June, providing for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon. However, the US resumed large-scale strikes on Iran overnight on July 8, accusing Tehran of violating the terms of the agreement regarding the Strait of Hormuz. About 25% of global oil trade and around 20% of liquefied natural gas trade pass through the strait. The US administration then effectively signaled an end to the use of large-scale military force against Iran and a shift toward an attempt to economically strangle the country through sanctions.
Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that consultations between Tehran and Washington through Doha and Islamabad are proceeding very intensively, and that everything depends on Washington’s political will. Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has authorized the government to negotiate with the United States on a peaceful settlement of the conflict.