VP Vance: Progress made at talks; Tehran not accepting 'Trump's red lines'

US Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that some progress was made during a second round of nuclear talks with Iran in Geneva but warned that Tehran has not accepted red lines set by US President Donald Trump. His comments came as Israeli officials expressed skepticism over the prospects of a deal and as open-source flight tracking data showed dozens of American fighter jets moving toward the Middle East.

“In some ways it went well. They agreed to meet afterward,” Vance told Fox News regarding the Geneva talks. “But in other ways, it was very clear that the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through.” He said one of those red lines is that Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon, adding that a nuclear Islamic Republic would spark a global arms race that would be dangerous for America.

“The president of the United States is very much trying to find a solution here, whether it’s through diplomatic options or through another option that means the Iranians cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Vance said. “We’re going to keep on working on it, but of course, the president reserves the ability to say when he thinks that diplomacy has reached its natural end.”

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iran agreed to present detailed proposals within two weeks to address gaps in the negotiations. “Progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss,” the official said. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the talks as “constructive” and said an understanding was reached on “guiding principles.”

Israeli officials were quoted by Channel 13 as expressing doubt about the negotiations. “Our impression is that it’s a smokescreen,” a senior Israeli official said, adding that “the odds for a deal are low.” Channel 12 reported that Israel is preparing for the possibility that talks could collapse and that senior US officials signaled further progress was unlikely if Iran does not meet Trump’s demands.

As the talks continued, open-source flight trackers indicated that more than 50 US fighter jets, including F-22, F-35, and F-16 aircraft, were moved to the region over the past 24 hours. A US official confirmed the deployment to Axios. Trump said last week that regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen” and confirmed that a second aircraft carrier was sent to the region “in case we don’t make a deal.” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responded that “A warship is certainly a dangerous weapon, but even more dangerous is the weapon capable of sinking it.”

Washington has demanded that Iran halt uranium enrichment and give up stockpiles enriched up to 60 percent purity. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran is open to “verification” that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, but insisted it has the right to a peaceful nuclear program. “We are absolutely not seeking nuclear weapons,” Pezeshkian said.