Vance says nuclear inspectors ‘absolutely’ to return to Iran as part of new deal
Vice President JD Vance sought to provide assurances on Monday that President Donald Trump’s newest Iran deal will effectively target the regime’s nuclear program.
Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been touted by officials as one of the top reasons why the United States launched strikes against the country on Feb. 28, and have been the top hurdle in negotiations to wind down the conflict. A “memorandum of understanding” resolving tensions between the two countries was reached over the weekend, but bipartisan concerns remain that Trump’s new deal could lack sufficient enforcement mechanisms to keep Iran from enriching uranium and building nuclear weapons.
Amid the controversy, Vance went on a media tour to sell the deal, telling NBC News that the MOU calls for nuclear inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to be sent to Iran to enforce the deal. Iran has previously blocked or restricted IAEA access to key nuclear facilities, in violation of past agreements.
“Yes, absolutely,” Vance said. “One of the core parts of the agreement is that the [International Atomic Energy Agency] and the United States are going to help Iran destroy the highly enriched stockpile, and that’s something that’s spelled out very clearly” in the memorandum of understanding, he added.
Although the MOU was signed digitally over the weekend, the president’s team has thus far refused to release the text until it is signed in person in Switzerland on Friday, triggering backlash over a perceived lack of transparency.
“There’s some technical details to work out, not related to the text of the MOU itself, but the implementation,” Vance told NBC News when pressed on why the text could not be shared. “We talked with the Iranians and consulted with a number of folks in the region — the Qataris and the Pakistanis were very helpful in mediating this particular deal.”
Trump launched strikes against Iran in February after the U.S. was told by Iranian leadership that it had enough enriched uranium to make 11 nuclear bombs within 10 days, according to the president’s team.
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Vance said Monday that “the Iranian nuclear program has been completely destroyed” since the U.S. launched the conflict.
“What we’re saying is: Make the long-term commitment not to rebuild it, and you will get the benefits that come with that,” he said.
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