Vance signals flexibility on Iran's nuclear enrichment as the war enters its eighth month

Vice President JD Vance has opened what looks like a narrower path toward ending the U.S. war with Iran, saying Tehran would need to make a "meaningful" reduction in its uranium enrichment rather than abandon it entirely. The comments, made Tuesday in an interview with Reuters, mark a noticeable shift from President Trump's demand on the eve of the war that Iran keep "no enrichment" at all.

"If you don't want a nuclear weapon, then why do you need 60 percent enriched fuel?" Vance said, calling highly enriched uranium "a very basic threshold issue." He added that Washington has been in contact with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, though he said it is "not totally clear" how Iran's leadership makes decisions.

Mixed signals from Washington

Not every senior official is sounding the same note. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters in Athens on Wednesday, said flatly that Iran "cannot have a nuclear weapon," accused Tehran of squandering several chances at a deal, and claimed Iran had "lost complete control" of the Strait of Hormuz. Rubio said nearly as much oil is moving through the strait now as before the conflict began and described Iran's economy as being in "total and complete freefall" under sanctions.

President Trump, for his part, has said the war will end "the nice way or the not-so-nice way." Analysts say the combination of Vance's softer wording and Rubio's harder line suggests the administration is keeping pressure high while testing what kind of nuclear limits Tehran might accept.

Iran's response

Iran's answer was guarded but not a flat no. A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that Vance's ideas are "at odds with Iran's demands" and that the right to enrich uranium is a red line on which Tehran "will not show flexibility in any way." The same official said the details of enrichment could be discussed later, which observers read as leaving room to negotiate levels and limits.

Pezeshkian struck a darker tone earlier in the week, calling talks "futile" and accusing the U.S. of launching attacks after previous rounds of diplomacy. Araghchi, addressing foreign ambassadors on Oct. 4, said only negotiations "based on justice and fairness" could end the conflict. Meanwhile, a senior Revolutionary Guard adviser warned Wednesday that Iran would soon block what he called illegal routes through the Strait of Hormuz, contradicting Rubio's account.

What's on the table

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has enriched uranium to 60 percent, short of the roughly 90 percent considered weapons-grade. A June 17 memorandum of understanding briefly eased the fighting before it collapsed. An Iranian proposal floated at the United Nations General Assembly in late September would have halted fighting on all fronts, lifted the U.S. naval blockade and oil sanctions, released frozen Iranian assets and reopened Hormuz. Trump rejected it.

Experts say sanctions relief, frozen funds, the blockade and regional fighting remain bigger sticking points for Tehran than the enrichment number alone.

The cost at home

For Americans, the war's effects are increasingly visible. Gas and diesel prices have jumped, damage to refineries has tightened fuel supplies, and economists link the conflict to the inflation fears that pushed the Federal Reserve to raise rates in September. Most families of the six soldiers killed in the war's deadliest attack are skipping a White House event for Gold Star families this week, a reminder of the human toll.

Whether Vance's comments are a trial balloon or a real policy turn may become clearer in the coming days. For now, both capitals are signaling that a deal is possible, and that neither side is ready to blink first.