Vance rules out Iran talks until ship attacks stop
Photo: REUTERS
During a White House press briefing on Thursday, United States Vice President JD Vance ruled out diplomatic talks with Iran until Tehran stops attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Vance emphasized that the administration keeps all options on the table. He declined, however, to specify a projected timeline for the end of the US-Israeli war on Iran - a conflict that continues to drive up worldwide energy costs and fuel domestic unpopularity.
Trying to minimize the fallout of the war, Vance even questioned how to refer to the conflict during the briefing.
“I wouldn’t call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting,” Vance remarked, before clarifying, “I recognise there have been places where this has flared up.” His remarks follow days of heavy military exchanges between the US and Iran.
Still, he argued that major combat operations lasted only “about six weeks” and successfully degraded Iran’s defence production capabilities. He also directed attention toward the Strait of Hormuz, a focal point of the war, accusing Iran of blocking traffic flow through the vital trade route.
When journalists asked about the timeline, Vance responded, “When you ask, ‘When will this end?’, you’re asking me a question like: When will the Iranians stop shooting at ships?” He added, “I think the reality is, I don’t know the answer to that question. You’d have to ask the Iranians.”
Prior to the outbreak of war on 28 February, shipping traffic passed freely through the strait. However, after the US and Israel launched an initial volley of attacks that month, Iran closed the waterway to commercial vessels, dealing a heavy blow to the global fossil fuel trade.
Previously, roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas flowed through the Strait of Hormuz. Vance maintained that US military operations are helping create conditions for increased oil shipments through the strait.
He also declared that a new deal transferring control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves to the US would lower global oil costs. Commenting on the market impact, Vance said, “When will the Iranians shooting at ships stop having an effect on world energy markets? The answer is it has less effect day by day.”
Vance also criticized US allies for failing to contribute more to the war, crediting US President Donald Trump with singlehandedly preventing a larger energy crisis. He asserted, “What we’re doing right now is protecting commercial shipping in order to ensure that we don’t have a worldwide energy crisis.”
He added, “The only reason we don’t have an energy crisis is because of the leadership of the president but also because of the fine work of our military.”
When asked about an American attack that reportedly struck a wedding party in the coastal Iranian city of Sirik, Vance said the military is investigating the incident, though he expressed extreme skepticism regarding the Iranian government's accounts.
“We’re investigating it because obviously we care. We want to know,” Vance told reporters at the White House, adding, “When our military makes mistakes, they learn from them to try to get better from them.”
The attack reportedly killed at least five people, including children, and injured nearly 70 others. Meanwhile, human rights advocates pointed out that the US has historically denied responsibility for past attacks that have killed civilians globally, leaving victims with few ways of seeking accountability.
While the US military maintains that it “never targets civilians,” the Trump administration also denied responsibility for an airstrike on an Iranian elementary school in Minab. That attack killed more than 150 people, mostly schoolchildren, on the first day of the war.
Nonetheless, evidence reviewed by US media and international observers strongly suggests the use of a US Tomahawk missile. The conflict has claimed thousands of lives in Iran and across the Middle East, including in countries like Lebanon.
As of August, the war has claimed the lives of 18 US service members and wounded 750 others. During the briefing, journalists pressed Vance regarding reports that at least one widow of a fallen service member was not receiving the full benefits allocated to families of those who die on active duty.
Libby Klinner, the widow of the late Air Force Major John “Alex” Klinner, posted in August that authorities withheld the benefits because “we haven’t officially declared war” on Iran. Vance, a military veteran himself, pledged to reach out to her directly after the briefing, adding, “Our heart breaks for every single person who lost their lives in this operation.”
Source: Al Jazeera (adapted)
