Vance says US set on diplomacy to deprive Iran of nuclear weapon

"(US President Donald Trump) actually wants Iran to be prosperous. He wants to have good relations with the Iranians, but they cannot have a nuclear weapon," Vance told reporters while visiting Jerusalem in a bid to shore up a Gaza ceasefire.

"So we're going to keep on using and exhausting every diplomatic means possible to try to ensure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon. That's our focus, and that will remain our focus for the indefinite future," he added.

Trump has repeatedly said June 22 US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites "obliterated" the program and the Iran is more focused on survival than rebuilding its capabilities.

Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons and called the attacks illegal.

Raising some eyebrows, the US President told the Israeli Knesset last week that it would be ideal if Tehran could be folded into a broader Middle East peace deal. Still, he has often mooted bombing Iran again if it seeks to rebuild its nuclear program.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appeared to rule out any renewed talks with Tehran in a rare speech earlier on Monday, calling Trump's assertions on crippling its nuclear sites "nonsense" and telling Trump to "keep dreaming."

“(Trump) claims to be a man of deals, but if a deal is accompanied by coercion and its outcome is predetermined, it is not a deal but an imposition and bullying. The Iranian nation will not bow to such impositions,” Khamenei said.

The Middle East has been beset by two years of conflict since Iran-backed Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7 2023, sparking a devastating Israeli incursion into Gaza which triggered interventions by Iran's armed allies in the region.

The fighting, capped by the US-Israeli onslaught on Iran for 12 days in June, left Tehran and its affiliates seriously weakened, though a final resolution on the nuclear issues and Iran's posture toward Israel and the United States has remained elusive.