When asked what about Iran makes him think that they are not negotiating in good faith, US President JD Vance replied that Tehran’s leadership is fractured and it is unclear as to what they want.

“It’s a very complicated country … it’s a great and proud civilisation,” he tells reporters at the White House. “Smart people, very hard-working, and you see some of that in the negotiating team on the other side.

“You also see some very hardline positions in the negotiating team on the other side, so I think you see that conflict, the fact that maybe the Iranians aren’t themselves quite clear in what direction they want to go to.”

Vance adds that Iran’s leadership is fractured, with officials under supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei who “have some influence in the negotiation”, and that the position of the negotiators is unclear.

“I don’t know if that’s sometimes bad communication, if that’s bad faith … But I will say with confidence, it’s sometimes hard to figure out exactly what it is that the Iranians want to accomplish out of the negotiation,” he says.

“What we’ve done is try to be as clear as possible; what are our red lines, what are the things we’re willing to be accommodating on, and what are things we absolutely must have.”