Vice President JD Vance on Saturday touted progress in ongoing negotiations to end the war in Iran, assuring during an appearance on Fox News that “a better relationship” with Iran is possible — before appearing to state the quiet part out loud.
“Right now we’re trying to see if they’re willing to make the kind of long-term changes that would be necessary to have a better relationship with the United States,” Vance told “Saturday in America” host Kayleigh McEnany. “And if not, that’s fine too.”
Then came this: “We’re just going to keep on applying the pressure that we can apply and getting as much oil and gas out of the Middle East so that Americans can enjoy lower gas and energy prices. So that’s the delicate dance.”
The pursuit of oil was not among the stated reasons Trump gave in February, when the war was launched. He claimed, and maintains, that the conflict’s purpose was to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
This isn’t the only time the prospect of oil has hovered over U.S. military actions: Trump also ordered an operation in January to capture now-former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and admitted Wednesday that the U.S. is taking “billions and billions of barrels of oil” from Venezuela — stating, “To the victor belong the spoils.”
Vance echoed this sentiment Saturday in his Iran update, saying the U.S. is “trying to maximize the amount of oil and gas that are coming out of the Strait of Hormuz” to pre-war levels.
The war led Iran to close the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes, resulting in higher gas and food prices for Americans. People have shown their dissatisfaction, increasingly reflected in polls that could spell disaster for the GOP in the upcoming midterms.
“I try to remind people that we’re really in the middle of the game here,” Vance said Saturday.
He continued, “This thing is not over. It’s obviously not at the beginning … we’re applying a whole host of tools — diplomatic, economic, military tools — to ensure that we get the best outcome for the American people.”
The Trump administration appeared confident in the war’s early days that relentless bombing could pressure Iran to reopen the strait, only for the country to stand its ground and Trump to declare in July that a then-temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire was “over.”
Regarding an end to the conflict, Vance claimed Saturday, “I feel quite confident we will get there.”
Trump said Monday that talks with Tehran were underway and that Iran had one “last chance” to reach a deal — only for Iranian officials to insist no negotiations were taking place.