US Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday in an interview with CBS News that negotiations between the United States and Iran were close to a deal. [Reuters]
US Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday in an interview with CBS News that negotiations between the United States and Iran were close to a deal. [Reuters]

US Vice President JD Vance said negotiations with Iran were close to a deal, even as the two countries traded accusations and attacks over the downing of a US military helicopter.

Speaking in a pre-recorded interview on CBS News' "Sunday Morning" that aired Tuesday, Vance said the two sides were "very close" to achieving their goal, though "there's still work to do." He described that goal as reaching a point where he could tell his children when they grow up that "Iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon."

Vance said a deal "could happen next week, or it could be a few months from now," but called it "absolutely" possible that an agreement would be reached before the November midterm elections. He expressed confidence that a deal would be finalized well before then.

The remarks echoed the outlook Donald Trump had conveyed. The president told reporters Monday that negotiations with Iran were on track to produce tangible results within days, citing a window of June 2 through June 3.

Vance also said he did not believe Iran was stalling or trying to deceive Trump. "I think Iran's decision-making process just takes a long time to reach an agreement," he said.

The administration's optimistic outlook faces uncertainty after a US Army Apache helicopter was shot down by an Iranian drone Monday, prompting US forces to strike Iranian military facilities in retaliation. Iran responded by firing missiles at US military bases across the Middle East.


kate01@heraldcorp.com