Speaking at an event hosted by Turning Point USA in Georgia, Vance said, “the president doesn’t want to make a small deal; he wants to make the grand bargain”.

Vance said that Washington had offered to normalise economic relations with Tehran if it was “willing to act like a normal country.”

He reiterated that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons remains the central objective of US policy.

Vance said there ​was a lot of mistrust between Washington and ‌Tehran that cannot be resolved overnight, but he added that Iranian negotiators wanted to make a deal and that ​he felt “very good about where we are.”

A fragile two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran still has a week ​to run. Vance was involved in the talks ​last weekend in Pakistan.

“There is a lot of, of course, ‌mistrust ⁠between Iran and the United States of America. You are not going to solve that problem overnight,” Vance said during the Turning Point USA event.

Iranian negotiators ​wanted to make ​a deal, ⁠he said. “I feel very good about where we are,” Vance added.

Vance also pointed to a fragile pause in hostilities, noting that a ceasefire between the two sides — now nearly a week old — appears to be holding.

Addressing domestic sentiment, the vice president acknowledged that US policy in the Middle East has faced criticism, particularly among younger voters.

However, Vance urged them to stay politically engaged despite their disagreements.