US Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that Washington has no intention of resuming negotiations with Iran while Tehran continues to attack commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The President’s been very clear: We are not talking to the Iranians, and we are not going to talk to them unless they stop shooting at commercial shipping. My advice to the Iranians is stop acting like crazy people," the Vice President said at a press briefing at the White House.
Asked whether the conflict with Iran would end before the November 3 midterm elections, Vance first said, “I wouldn’t call it a war," before explaining that the timeline largely depends on Tehran's actions.
“When you ask when will this end, you’re asking me a question like when will the Iranians stop shooting at ships? I think the reality is I don’t know the answer to that question. You would have to ask the Iranians."
Vance also said the amount of oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz is approaching prewar levels, noting that 15 million barrels passed through the waterway during the previous night.
“The reason gas prices are so high right now is because the Iranians are shooting at commercial shipping… Yes, gas prices are higher in the United States, but they’re way worse everywhere else in the world," he stated.
The Vice President also expressed strong doubts about Iranian claims that a US strike earlier this week hit a wedding party.
“I will say that the Iranian state media has not been a very good scribe about what's happened in the conflict thus far, so I'm extremely skeptical of this," Vance told reporters.
He reiterated the US military's position that civilians are not deliberately targeted, while saying authorities are investigating the reported incident.
“Unfortunately, obviously, sometimes things happen, but in this particular case, I don’t think that we have any information one way or the other," Vance said. “We're investigating it because obviously we care, we want to know."
Vance spoke a day after President Donald Trump said he did not expect the renewed confrontation with Iran to continue for much longer.
Asked how long the latest escalation would last, Trump responded, “Not too long". He subsequently suggested that Iran could have limited ability to withstand continued American attacks.
“I don’t think it will be very much longer. I don’t know how much more they can take," Trump said of Iran.
Trump also said the US was ready to launch further strikes against Iran if necessary.
“It was a very heavy attack last night, and we are prepared to do another one anytime we want," he stressed.
Later Wednesday, Trump addressed the conflict during an event in the Rose Garden, saying Iran had suffered major losses following the latest US strikes and that its ability to wage war had been severely diminished.
“We're winning that one very big, by the way, in case you haven't noticed. They don't have a Navy. They don't have an Air Force. They don't have any aircraft. Anything having to do with aircraft or ships, they're all at the bottom of the sea or at the bottom of a runway. Their leaders are gone. All of their technology is gone. Their weapons are largely gone. Other than that, they're doing quite well."
Trump also cited Iran's economic situation as evidence of the pressure facing the regime.
“Their economy is totally shot. Their economy is the worst anywhere in the world, they said this morning. They have close to 300% inflation, their money is valueless. They're not doing well at all, so it's just a question of time," added the President.
He said the US military campaign was aimed at protecting the Middle East, Israel and the United States from Iran.
“We're doing it to help the Middle East, we're doing it to help Israel, we're doing it to help ourselves, because after they annihilate Israel, which they would've done very gladly, and then the Middle East, then they come after Europe and they come after some of our cities before we put them away."