US VP: Main barrier to diplomacy with Iran — impossibility of direct talks with Khamenei

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has stated in an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show that one of the main obstacles to diplomacy with Iran is the impossibility to conduct direct negotiations with the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Vance told the interviewer that Iran’s power structure is far more complex than, for example, Venezuela’s, and problems cannot be solved by removing a single individual, Caliber.Az reports.

“The regime goes well beyond the Ayatollah. It's not like Venezuela where take Maduro. It's a lot more complex,” the U.S. vice president said.

According to him, the main problem is that real power rests with Khamenei, who does not negotiate directly.

Unlike countries such as Russia, China, or North Korea, whose leaders President Donald Trump could engage with directly, the U.S. must negotiate with Iranian officials who do not hold ultimate authority, making diplomatic efforts less effective.

Vance also added that a change of regime by the Iranian people, leading to a government more friendly to the U.S., would be a positive step.

By Khagan Isayev