Vice President JD Vance said the US holds significant leverage in negotiations with Iran, adding that the Trump administration hopes to release the text of the agreement this week.
"I think the best outcome is a good deal for the American people, which we have fundamentally," Vance said in an interview with CNBC.
Discussing negotiations expected later this week, Vance said: "We expect to have a full spectrum of representatives at the negotiation on Friday. Again, we've been talking to these people sometimes indirectly, but sometimes directly, and that's what's fundamentally changed under the president's leadership."
He said the Trump administration is now engaging directly with Iran, adding: "We have some good relationships there."
"This is going to be a successful negotiation, because you know we're not passing messages through various back channels anymore. We're actually talking to them, and when you talk to them, you figure out what's real, what's fake, what are they serious about, what are they not serious about," he said.
Highlighting Washington's position ahead of the talks, Vance said: "We fundamentally have all the cards here. We don't have to give the Iranians anything if they don't make the commitments that we want long term on the nuclear program, and even if we just stopped here, what would be true? Their military is destroyed, the Straits of Hormuz are open, their nuclear program has been destroyed, and we have incredible economic leverage over them that we didn't have a year and a half ago."
Vance further noted that Washington remains open to improving relations with Tehran, saying: "If you guys want to meet us, if you guys want to change your relationship with the United States, we will change our relationship with Iran. That's the offer. We're going to have to see whether they meet us there."
Addressing concerns about Israel's reaction to a potential agreement, Vance said: "Well, first of all, I think there are elements within Israel that like the deal quite a bit, and I also think there's been some misreporting about the deal."
He added that the administration hopes to release the text of the agreement this week and said it would make the region safer and help create "a new Middle East, not just for the next few years, but for the next generation."
Vance said in another interview with broadcaster ABC News that the peace deal with Iran had already been signed digitally, stressing that no funds had been released and that sanctions relief would only follow if Tehran took concrete steps to eliminate its enriched uranium stockpile and accept a verification regime.
In separate remarks to CBS news, Vance said Iran could gain access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund through Gulf states, but only if it dismantles its nuclear program, while denying that $24 billion in frozen assets was part of the current deal text.
"That's the sort of thing they could have access to, funded by the Gulf Coast Coalition, so long as they honor their end of the obligation," Vance said when asked about the reconstruction fund.
"We absolutely are open to the Gulf Coast countries investing in the reconstruction of Iran, but only if Iran ends their nuclear program, ends their enriched stockpile of material, and it was really open to an inspections and enforcement regime that gives the American people confidence they're never going to have a nuclear weapon," he added.
He also accused Iranian hardline media of misrepresenting the deal.
"The Iranian media, especially the hardline media — they're going to talk a lot about what they get without talking about what they give," Vance said.
On whether Israel was on board with the deal, Vance did not directly answer but said the US expects all actors in the region to honor the agreement.
