Trump still prefers diplomatic solution with Iran: Vance

• Trump has been clear Iran can't have nuclear weapon, says Vance. 
• US, Iran will hold third round of talks in Geneva on Thursday.
• Iran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.
  

US Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump still preferred a diplomatic solution with Iran and that he hoped Iranians took that seriously in their negotiations on Thursday.

Vance told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" programme that Trump has been clear Iran can't have a nuclear weapon. He said that Trump wants to achieve that goal diplomatically, but has other tools at his disposal.

The US and Iranian delegations will hold a third round of talks over Tehran's nuclear programme in Geneva on Thursday.

His comments came as the United States announced fresh sanctions targeting Iran, pressing on with what Washington calls its "maximum pressure" campaign.

As US forces mass in the Middle East, Trump claimed in his speech to Congress on Tuesday that Iran was seeking to develop missiles that can strike the United States.

Trump also accused Tehran of having "sinister nuclear ambitions" and working to rebuild a nuclear programme that was targeted by US strikes last year.

Vance told Fox News that while Trump was going to try to "accomplish it diplomatically," the US president also had the "right" to use military action.

"The president has a number of other tools at his disposal to ensure this doesn’t happen. He’s shown a willingness to use them and I hope the Iranians take it seriously in the negotiations tomorrow because that’s certainly what the president prefers."

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier struck an upbeat tone, saying there was a "favorable outlook" for the negotiations as his Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his team left for Switzerland.

Iran also rejected Trump’s claims about its missile programme as "big lies."

But while Trump said he preferred a diplomatic solution, he also set out what appeared to be the justifications for possible military action in the first State of the Union address of his second term.

It was the same forum in which then-president George W Bush laid out the case for the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Trump claimed in his address that Tehran had "already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America".

Iran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.