Picture : @VP/X
US Vice President JD Vance has said the “ball is in the Iranians’ court” as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to ongoing negotiations, warning that the United States has the capacity to impose significantly greater costs if needed.
According to areport by ANI, Speaking during remarks alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest, Vance underscored that while the US prefers a diplomatic outcome, it retains powerful options.
“And the President of the United States is a man who recognises leverage, that if the Iranians want to exact a certain amount of pain, the United States has the ability to exact much, much greater pain. The President doesn’t want to do that, I don’t want to do that. That’s why we’re negotiating so aggressively, but fundamentally the ball is in the Iranians’ court,” he said.
Vance noted delays in communication and negotiation pace from Tehran, particularly in the midst of ongoing tensions.
“Now, I think the President has talked about this. One thing I will say is that the Iranians are not; they were not the fastest negotiators before the war started, and they’re certainly not the fastest negotiators now. So we recognise there’s some delay sometimes in transmitting messages from one person to another, but we feel confident that we can get a response, whether it’s positive or negative. We’re going to get a response from the Iranians by 8:00 pm tonight (local time). I hope they make the right response,” he said.
Highlighting broader economic implications, Vance stressed the importance of stability in global energy flows.
“Because what we really want is we want a world where oil and gas is flowing freely, where people can afford to heat their homes and cool their homes, where people can afford to transport themselves to work. That’s not going to happen if the Iranians are engaged in acts of economic terrorism,” he added.
