Vice-President JD Vance says Washington will not negotiate until Tehran stops targeting commercial vessels…reports Asian Lite News Desk
The United States will not enter negotiations with Iran until Tehran stops attacking commercial shipping, Vice-President J.D. Vance has said, warning that Washington is prepared to use economic, military, diplomatic and covert pressure.
Speaking at a White House briefing, Vance said President Donald Trump had made clear that talks were off the table while commercial vessels remained under threat in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The President’s been very clear, we’re not talking to them and we’re not going to talk to them unless they stop shooting at commercial shipping,” Vance said.
He rejected calls for a deadline on US operations, saying their duration would depend on Iran’s actions and that setting an artificial timetable would be irresponsible while oil and gas vessels remained at risk.
Vance also rejected descriptions of the situation as an ongoing war, saying major combat operations were no longer taking place and that Washington’s immediate focus was ensuring the continued flow of global energy supplies.
He claimed US action had helped maintain oil shipments through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
“The Iranians would like zero million barrels to come out of the Strait of Hormuz. Last night, 15 million barrels came out of the Strait of Hormuz,” Vance said. “That’s because of the United States of America.”
The Vice-President said the Trump administration retained a range of options to increase pressure on Tehran, although he declined to comment on whether Washington was considering arming Iranian dissidents.
“Everything that could happen is on the table: Economic pressure, military pressure, diplomatic pressure, covert pressure,” he said.
Vance added that several countries, including China, Turkey, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, were helping to apply pressure on Iran. He said some governments were cooperating privately without publicly acknowledging their involvement.
According to Vance, Washington’s strategy has two main objectives: protecting commercial shipping and preventing Iran from rebuilding its nuclear capabilities.
He said the US had destroyed Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and was now seeking to ensure Tehran could not restore it.
“So far, we haven’t seen them try to do so, but part of what we’re doing here is, having destroyed their nuclear enrichment capacity, we’re trying to ensure they don’t rebuild it,” he said.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most strategically important shipping routes, carrying a significant share of global oil and gas supplies. Any prolonged disruption could drive up shipping and insurance costs and trigger renewed volatility in global energy markets.
