
“The idea that we’re going to be in a Middle Eastern war for years with no end in sight – there is no chance that will happen,” Vance told the paper, essentially rejecting criticism that Washington could get stuck in a military quagmire in the volatile region should Trump order air strikes.
“I think we all prefer the diplomatic option,” said Vance, a US Marine veteran who served in the Iraq war. “But it really depends on what the Iranians do and what they say.”
The Trump administration meanwhile concluded a third round of US-Iran talks Thursday in Geneva, with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi saying the latest round were the “most intense” so far.