US Vice President JD Vance stated that "all options", military, economic and diplomatic, are on the table regarding Iran, and that they are not pursuing an "indefinite war" with Tehran.
US Vice President Vance answered questions regarding the agenda at the press conference held at the White House.
Blaming Iran for the high oil prices in the US and international markets, Vance said that the Iranian army should stop opening fire on oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
"There are a lot of things we're doing, especially trying to put pressure on the Iranians to get them to stop shooting at commercial ships." Vance argued that, on the other hand, there was no global energy crisis thanks to the USA opening the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers.
"Frankly, we're protecting the ships that come through here, which is why we haven't had a worldwide energy crisis. Without President (Donald) Trump's leadership and the hard work of our troops, we would have been facing an energy crisis because the Iranians refuse to stop acting like terrorists in the Strait of Hormuz," Vance said. he commented.
Reminding that they are not currently in negotiations with Iran, the US Vice President said, "I will not explain exactly what kind of relationship we will establish with the Iranians in the coming period, because this would narrow the President's decision-making area. However, all possible options are on the table, economic pressure, military pressure, diplomatic pressure, secret pressure." he said.
Vance said that they would not publicly announce their plans regarding Iran, but emphasized that Trump kept all options.
- Objected to the definition of "indefinite war"
On the other hand, JD Vance, in response to a question, stated that they have no intention of "indefinite war" with Iran and that they have completed the active attack process.
Arguing that the US's latest attacks against Iran were not "large-scale", Vance said: "I would like to object to the statement of indefinite war, because large-scale combat operations are not being carried out at the moment and have not been carried out for a very long time. In fact, what we did just a few days ago was to make it difficult for the Iranians to hit a commercial ship again in order to ensure the flow of oil and gas to the world energy markets." made his assessment.
Noting that they are aware that their efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open without active negotiations with Iran create a cost, Vance stated that other alternatives also produce high costs.
When asked when Iran would stop shooting at commercial ships, Vance said: "I don't know. We are not meeting with the Iranians right now and we will not meet until they stop shooting at commercial ships." he replied.
- Oil transit through the Strait of Hormuz
Arguing that the control of the Strait of Hormuz is in the US Navy, JD Vance said, "15 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait last night." He stated that tanker passages in the Bosphorus are continuing.
Claiming that if the USA does not do this, no other country will do this, Vance said that in this way, oil shipments to international markets can be continued.
- Praise for China's stance on Iran
Asked which countries follow policies compatible with the United States regarding Iran, Vance stated that China's policy regarding Iran is constructive, although not completely.
The US Vice President said, "We think the People's Republic of China is willing to cooperate on this issue. We all know that. Of course, we have some political disagreements, but they are not the type of country that fires on commercial ships because they cannot get what they want in an international dispute. In this respect, I think they are willing to act a little more responsibly." made his assessment.
- Allegation that a wedding in Iran was shot down by the US army
On the other hand, Vance underlined that they doubt the accuracy of the allegations that the US military targeted a wedding in Iran, causing the death of many civilians.
Stating that "such incidents may occur" on the battlefield from time to time, Vance stated that the United States has never targeted civilians and that if such an incident occurs, they investigate it.
"I'm extremely skeptical about this." Vance said, "What I can say with 100 percent certainty is that, unlike the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the United States has never targeted civilians in conflicts. We will never do that, we have never done that before." he said.
