Vice President says U.S. will resume strikes on Iran if ceasefire fails

Vice President Vance said Wednesday the United States could resume military action against Iran if the 60-day ceasefire ends without a peace agreement. “The president is not going to send our military back in unless he has to, unless there's a clearly defined purpose for it,” Vance told reporters after speaking at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.

” The U.S. entered the ceasefire with Iran in April after seven weeks of U.S. airstrikes. Officials cited Iran's nuclear program as the reason for the earlier campaign. The two sides later signed a 60-day agreement on June 17 aimed at reaching a broader peace plan.

Current negotiations Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are in Doha for talks with counterparts from Pakistan and Qatar. The discussions are described as technical rather than direct. Vance said the meetings have been productive but offered no further details.

Vance also stated that the administration has already met its main objective regardless of the talks' outcome. “We obviously want it to be successful, but even if it's not successful, we've accomplished the core mission, which is to ensure that the Iranians never have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

President Trump said earlier this month that he would take credit if the negotiations succeed and placed responsibility on the vice president if they fail.