Iran nuclear talks collapsed as they 'did not pass the smell test', says JD Vance

Vance said U.S. envoys had engaged in “deliberate” negotiations in Geneva with Iranian representatives but ultimately determined the talks were not credible.

• US-Iran nuclear talks collapsed over credibility concerns
• Operation Epic Fury launched, targeting Iran's nuclear sites
• Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on US, allies

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U.S. negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme collapsed after American officials concluded that Tehran’s assurances "did not pass the smell test," following which President Donald Trump authorised the ongoing military offensive, Operation Epic Fury, Vice President JD Vance said.

Speaking in an interview on Fox News, Vance said U.S. envoys had engaged in “deliberate” negotiations in Geneva with Iranian representatives but ultimately determined the talks were not credible.

"And so we would say, ‘OK, that's interesting, but why are you building your enrichment facilities 70 feet underground? And why are you enriching to a level that's way beyond civilian enrichment and is only useful if your goal is to build a nuclear bomb?", Vance said.

"Nobody objects to the Iranians being able to build medical isotopes; the objection is these enrichment facilities that are only useful for building a nuclear weapon," he added, arguing that Iran’s explanation “just doesn't pass the smell test.”

The Vice President said the discussions, involving U.S. representatives including Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Jared Kushner, were aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief and preventing a wider war. However, he said Washington concluded that Iran remained intent on moving toward nuclear weapons capability.

A key sticking point was Iran’s enrichment of uranium to levels around 60 percent purity, far above civilian thresholds and significantly beyond limits set under the 2015 nuclear agreement, keeping proliferation concerns high.

Vance said Trump ultimately decided that temporary containment was not sufficient.

"What the president determined is he didn't want to just keep the country safe from an Iranian nuclear weapon for the first three, four years of his second term," Vance said. "He wanted to make sure that Iran could never have a nuclear weapon, and that would require fundamentally a change in mindset from the Iranian regime fundamentally," he noted.

He added, "So he saw that the Iranian regime was weakened, he knew that they were committed to getting on that brink of a nuclear weapon, and he decided to take action because he felt that was necessary in order to protect the nation's security".

Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, has entered its third day, with U.S. and Israeli forces carrying out coordinated precision strikes deep inside Iran targeting missile systems, nuclear-related infrastructure and leadership compounds.

"We destroyed Iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon during President Trump's term. We set them back substantially. But I think the President was looking for the long haul," Vance said.

He stressed that Trump was seeking a long-term guarantee that Iran would never pursue nuclear weapons capability.

"The President is not going to rest until he accomplishes that all-important objective of ensuring that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon," he said, while also asserting that Washington does not want "a multiyear conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective".

Vance said the administration would ultimately prefer “a friendly regime in Iran, a stable country, a country that's willing to work with the United States.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth described the offensive as a “generational turning point America has waited for since 1979,” in a video message to the Joint Force. Invoking the administration’s “peace through strength” doctrine, he said operations would conclude “on America-first conditions of President Trump’s choosing.”

The conflict has widened across West Asia following the coordinated strikes, carried out alongside Israeli forces under the banner of Operation Epic Fury — also referred to as “Roaring Lion.” In response, Iran has launched ballistic missiles and drones targeting U.S. assets and regional partners including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

On the diplomatic front, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Danny Danon met First Lady Melania Trump ahead of a United Nations Security Council session, emphasising that the alliance between Israel and the United States “stands firm.”

President Trump also took to Truth Social on Monday to criticise Democratic opponents of the strikes. “The Radical Left Democrats… are complaining bitterly about the very necessary and important attack,” he wrote, arguing critics would have demanded action had he not ordered it.