US, Iran have made progress toward negotiated settlement: Vance
US Vice President JD Vance said Monday that Washington has made “progress” in talks with Iran, saying he and President Donald Trump feel “pretty good” about reaching a negotiated settlement. “I actually just spoke with the president of the United States about an hour ago about this,” Vance told reporters. “Look, the president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement. We’re going to keep on working at it.”
“The Iranians are always a little unpredictable, and as the president always says, he retains kinetic options. He retains non-kinetic options, but we’ve certainly made some progress. We’ll see if we can make some more,” he said. Asked whether Iran had been given a deadline before strikes resume, Vance said: “No, we haven’t set deadlines.” “Having destroyed their nuclear program, we want to make sure they don’t rebuild it or try to rebuild it.
Left out here: Drops what it reported before
The article reports Vance saying no deadline has been set before strikes resume. It never mentions that the midterm elections are the next day. It also leaves out Anadolu's own report a week earlier that the US had told Gulf states to prepare for a military campaign against Iran after the vote. Without this, a reader takes the talk of progress and 'no deadlines' as a sign that strikes are off the table, when the outlet had itself reported a planned post-election attack.
How we know
- Anadolu Agency (English) wrote earlier“against Iran after the Nov. 3 midterm elections”US warns Gulf states of possible 'short, intense' Iran war after midterms: Report (opens in a new tab)
- Times of Israel reported“Trump in recent weeks had hinted about renewing attacks on Iran when voting ends Tuesday in the United States.”Vance says US ‘feeling pretty good about prospects’ of a deal with Iran; Trump: ‘It could happen!’ (opens in a new tab)
That’s what matters most to the United States,” he said. “We do think that there is a pathway there, but it really does require a firm commitment and a verifiable commitment that they don’t rebuild that nuclear program,” he added. Vance's remarks came hours after Trump said at the reopening of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington that Iran wants to make a deal to end the conflict, now in its ninth month. “They want to make a deal, and that could happen,” Trump said, adding that Iran had asked Washington to stop targeting its leaders, “and we will.”
Left out here: Gives a contested claim the last word
Vance's claim that the US has 'destroyed their nuclear program' runs unchallenged. The article never says that Iran still holds a stockpile of highly enriched uranium, or that Trump still talks about bombing further enrichment sites. Other outlets reported both about the same remarks. Without this, a reader takes the destruction of Iran's programme as settled fact and not as a contested claim by the US government.
How we know
- Times of Israel reported“even though Iran still maintains a stockpile of highly-enriched uranium”Vance says US ‘feeling pretty good about prospects’ of a deal with Iran; Trump: ‘It could happen!’ (opens in a new tab)
- Arutz Sheva / Israel National News reported“Trump also identified additional Iranian nuclear facilities as potential targets”Trump: Iran wants a deal, it could happen (opens in a new tab)
Tensions in the Middle East have remained high since the US and Israel launched attacks against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering Iranian retaliation across the region. Despite subsequent diplomatic efforts and a memorandum signed by Washington and Tehran in June, tensions have persisted over security arrangements and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
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