US Vice President JD Vance has said that technical talks between Washington and Tehran were continuing, despite Iran’s public denials of ongoing negotiations, describing Tehran’s stance as a “Persian negotiating tactic.”

Speaking in an interview on The Michael Knowles Show, Vance confirmed that technical discussions aimed at building on previous negotiations were scheduled to take place.

“There were scheduled talks, really technical talks, building on the negotiation that we’ve already had. Those are definitely happening tomorrow,” Vance said.

He said Iranian officials’ public statements denying peace talks while acknowledging technical discussions were “fascinating and frustrating”.

“They’ll say, ‘No, no, there aren’t peace talks ongoing, but there are technical talks between the United States and Iran about the peace deal.’ It’s a Persian negotiating tactic and a Persian rhetorical device that I don’t understand,” he added.

Defending President Donald Trump’s approach to Iran, Vance said the administration was prepared to use military force when necessary but only in pursuit of clearly defined objectives.

“The president is saying, ‘I’m willing to drop bombs,’ and he’s clearly shown that he’s willing to drop bombs, but only if it serves an objective,” he said, criticising those who advocate military action without articulating a clear end goal.

In a separate interview with Fox News, Vance said Washington was focused on Iran’s actions rather than its rhetoric and stressed that meaningful progress in negotiations would require Tehran to make substantive concessions.

“We care a lot less about what the Iranians say. We care a lot more about what they do,” he said, adding that the United States continued to assess both positive and negative developments in the talks.

“We see some positive signs, obviously. We see some negative signs. What the president has told us is work the problem, see where the negotiation is going to lead, and if it doesn’t lead to a successful resolution on the diplomatic side, we still have a lot of optionality,” Vance said.

The remarks came after President Trump announced that Iran had requested a meeting in Doha, prompting White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to travel to the Qatari capital.

Iran, however, has denied that any direct talks with Washington are planned. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said discussions scheduled in Doha would focus on implementing provisions of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), including the release of Iran’s frozen assets, and would take place with Qatari officials rather than US representatives.

A senior US official said Witkoff and Kushner were expected to meet Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and other mediators in Doha to continue discussions on the agreement.

The memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, brokered under Pakistani mediation and signed electronically by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on June 18, established a framework for ending hostilities and addressing outstanding issues, including sanctions relief, Iran’s nuclear programme, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and broader regional security arrangements.