Vance said talks with Iran made ‘some progress’ on nuclear stumbling block

US vice president JD Vance said negotiations with Iran made “some progress” on nuclear issues.

Mr Vance said the talks in Pakistan, which ended without an agreement on Saturday, stalled after Iran refused to accept American terms on refraining from developing a nuclear weapon.

He told Fox News that he felt Iran’s negotiators could not make a deal without approval from Tehran.

“They moved in our direction,” Mr Vance said, adding that President Trump “would be very happy if Iran was treated like a normal country, if it had a normal economy”.

“There really is, I think, a grand deal to be had here. But, it’s up to the Iranians, I think, to take the next step.”

Iran’s ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali said the main sticking points for Tehran were its nuclear programme, war reparations and sanctions relief.

Discussions about a second round of in-person negotiations are underway, two US officials told the Associated Press, while a diplomat from one of the mediating countries said Tehran and Washington have agreed to more talks.

The White House was not responsive to queries about new talks.

“President Trump, vice president Vance and the negotiating team have made the US red lines very clear,” said press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“The Iranians’ desperation for a deal will only increase with President Trump’s highly effective Naval blockade now in effect,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Mr Trump said the American military had begun a blockade of Iranian ports on Monday as part of his effort to force Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz and accept a deal to end the war that has raged for more than six weeks.

Iran responded with threats on all ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, taking aim at US-allied countries.

“We can’t let a country blackmail or extort the world because that’s what they’re doing,” Mr Trump said of Iran.

Speaking outside the Oval Office, Mr Trump suggested the US is still willing to engage with Iran.

“I can tell you that we’ve been called by the other side,” Mr Trump said.

“We’ve been called this morning by the right people, the appropriate people, and they want to work a deal.”

Mr Trump did not say who called or what was discussed.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said the blockade restricted “the entirety of the Iranian coastline, including ports and energy infrastructure”.

Its notice to mariners said transit through the strait to or from non-Iranian places was not reported to be impeded although ships “may encounter military presence”.

The US military’s Central Command announced that the blockade would be enforced “against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas”.

It said that would include all of Iran’s ports on the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

Iran issued threats of its own.

“Security in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is either for everyone or for NO ONE,” the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported on Monday.

“NO PORT in the region will be safe,” read a statement from the Iranian military and the Revolutionary Guard.

The threats halted the limited ship traffic that resumed in the strait since the ceasefire, according to a report from Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Marine trackers say more than 40 commercial ships have crossed since the start of the ceasefire last week, down from roughly 100 to 135 vessel passages per day before the war.