US Vice President JD Vance said Monday that Iran's leadership has demonstrated what he described as extreme and unpredictable behavior during the war, while highlighting the US effort to keep commercial traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
In an interview with Fox News, Vance was asked what he had learned from going to war with Iran. He said the country's leadership appeared willing to take actions that could severely restrict the movement of oil and gas, even at the expense of Iran's allies.
"I think that what I've learned is these guys are really, really, meaning the leadership of the country, they're really crazy, and they're willing to do anything, and I think not with a whole lot of strategic wisdom behind it, in order to accomplish as little flow of oil and gas as possible. Now, we expected they would do that, we know that they don't like us, but what's odd to me is they will sometimes fire at their own allies, just to prevent the free flow of oil and gas."
Vance also addressed the latest US military strikes, saying American forces had acted against an Iranian effort to deploy sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
"There were strikes last night, of course, and we were responding to the Iranians who were about to lay some mines. And now we're at a phase where a lot of what we're doing is actually ensuring the free flow of commerce in the Strait of Hormuz."
The comments came after the United States struck Iranian military targets on Larak Island on Sunday. The attack reportedly killed two people and wounded two others and marked the first known US strikes inside Iran since late July, when President Donald Trump paused a two-week American military campaign in the strategic waterway.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened retaliation following the strike and later launched missiles toward US bases in Jordan.
Trump said Monday that the renewed military action against Iran should not necessarily be viewed as a full-scale war.
"They are a failed nation... That doesn't mean we won't smack them. We will see what happens."
The President also said the Strait of Hormuz is operating effectively despite the conflict, noting that "we have the Strait of Hormuz in extremely good shape. We've been averaging 30 ships a night. That's a lot."
Trump added, "We went into Iran, and we are beating the hell out of them."
Asked who is currently leading Iran, Trump said, "They don't really know. In my opinion, they don’t know who their leader is."
Meanwhile, Axios reported that Trump and senior administration officials are weighing limited strikes against Iranian positions in the Strait of Hormuz. The proposed action would seek to prevent Iran from rebuilding military capabilities that could again threaten shipping in the strategic waterway.