U.S. Vice President JD Vance said in a public White House briefing on Thursday that a 60-day ceasefire with Iran has officially begun after the signing of a memorandum of understanding, with the goal of reaching a final nuclear and political agreement. He described the process as a peace effort and said the Trump administration is already delivering results for Americans, including lower global oil and fuel prices that he expects to continue falling.
Vance said Iran is, for now, honoring its commitments and has stopped firing on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. He also claimed bluntly that “their nuclear program has been destroyed” and that Iran’s ability to threaten its neighbors has been largely removed. According to him, Tehran has agreed to fully stop enriching uranium and to allow international inspectors to verify the destruction of highly enriched stockpiles or remove them from the country.
He said lifting economic sanctions will depend entirely on real changes in Iran’s behavior, adding that U.S. pressure is strengthening pragmatic elements inside the regime. Vance also tied the ceasefire to what he called the next stage of the peace plan, which aims to move toward a final nuclear settlement over the next two months.
A large part of his remarks focused on Lebanon and the northern front. Vance said Lebanon is included in the wider regional understandings and told Israel to “respect this peace process,” warning that the U.S. expects Hezbollah to stop rocket and drone fire into Israel, but also expects Israelis “not to go wild in Lebanon.” He said strikes that kill uninvolved civilians in Beirut are unacceptable, and argued that the end goal is a regional framework that blocks Iranian money and weapons to Hezbollah and allows the Lebanese army to take full control of southern Lebanon. He acknowledged such ceasefires are often messy, but said Washington will handle flare-ups diplomatically under Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
