US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that Washington may not reach a nuclear agreement with Iran, raising the prospect that continued military action could replace diplomacy as the United States and Iran exchange attacks.
Wright said US forces could instead focus on destroying capabilities Washington believes could support the development and delivery of nuclear weapons, while maintaining that diplomatic outreach remains possible.
Asked on ABC News whether there were signs of an agreement, Wright said, “There may not be a nuclear agreement.”
He suggested military action could be used to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, while saying an agreement might instead await a future Iranian administration.
Iran has maintained that its nuclear programme is intended for peaceful power generation and that it does not plan to build a nuclear weapon.
Wright later told CBS that Washington remained “always open for a deal,” but said the US military was also seeking to stop Iranian energy exports and increase economic pressure.
Negotiations have stalled after earlier understandings failed to produce a lasting settlement, while military exchanges between US and Iranian forces have resumed.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have publicly played down the scale of the confrontation, with Vance declining to characterize it as a war.
Wright also declined to say that the Strait of Hormuz was currently safe for commercial tankers without US Navy assistance.
He told CNN that ships working with the US Navy could transit safely, but acknowledged that traffic remained below pre-conflict levels and that American military involvement was required.
Wright said other countries could eventually join efforts to support maritime traffic, arguing that maintaining global trade should not remain solely an American responsibility.
He also described the United States as still being in a conflict with Iran and said Iranian capabilities were being degraded while American capabilities were increasing.
Republican Senator John Kennedy, asked Sunday whether the conflict would end by November, responded, “Probably not.”