Key facts
- JD Vance says US may unfreeze Iranian assets as part of a nuclear deal
- Signals a potential breakthrough in US-Iran nuclear negotiations
- Marco Rubio begins Gulf tour Thursday with Hormuz tensions in focus
- Deal would mark major reversal of Trump-era maximum-pressure policy
US Vice President JD Vance signalled on Wednesday that a nuclear deal with Iran could be close, saying the United States may unfreeze some Iranian assets as part of an emerging agreement — the most explicit public hint yet from the Trump administration that diplomatic talks with Tehran are bearing fruit.
Vance's remarks carry significant weight given that the Trump administration had previously pursued a policy of maximum pressure on Iran, including sweeping sanctions. An offer to unfreeze assets would represent a major concession and a dramatic pivot, suggesting back-channel negotiations have advanced further than publicly acknowledged.
The timing is pointed: Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to begin a tour of Gulf countries starting Thursday, with the Strait of Hormuz — the critical oil chokepoint through which roughly 20% of global oil supply passes — squarely in focus. Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have complex and often fraught relationships with Iran, and any Washington-Tehran rapprochement will require careful handling of their security concerns.
For India, which is one of Iran's largest historic oil customers and has repeatedly sought exemptions from US sanctions to maintain energy ties with Tehran, a deal that eases sanctions and stabilises the Gulf could significantly affect crude import strategies. New Delhi will be watching both the asset-freezing question and Rubio's Gulf consultations closely as it weighs its own diplomatic positioning.