Vice President Vance: "No Talks with Iran Until Attacks on Merchant Ships Stop"

"Crude Oil Shipments Through Hormuz Nearly Recovered"
Clash With Iran "Would Not Call It a War"

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance announced that he will not engage in talks with Iran until the country halts its attacks on commercial vessels. While warning that Iran could face additional economic, military, and diplomatic pressure, he also drew a line at characterizing the current situation as war.

J.D. Vance, Vice President. Photo by Yonhap News

At a White House press briefing on September 3 (local time), Vice President Vance was asked about the possibility of negotiations with Iran. He responded, "President Donald Trump has made it very clear. We are not in talks with them, and we will not communicate until they cease their attacks on commercial vessels."

Vice President Vance also argued that, despite a series of Iranian attacks on commercial ships, the volume of oil transported through the Strait of Hormuz has nearly reached pre-conflict levels. He said, "About 15 million barrels of oil were shipped through the Strait of Hormuz last night," and added, "The current oil transport volume has almost recovered to the level before the conflict began."

He went on to say that, without the United States protecting the commercial vessels, there would have been a global energy crisis. Addressing Iran, he urged, "Stop behaving like madmen and cease firing on merchant ships."

Vice President Vance stated that the United States has "many additional options" to exert pressure on Iran, referring to economic, military, and diplomatic measures. However, he also noted that it would be President Trump who decides which course of action to take, without providing further specifics.

When asked whether he considers the current clash between the U.S. and Iran to be a "war," he replied, "I would not call this a war." He continued, "Major combat operations are not currently ongoing and have not been for quite some time."

Vice President Vance also revealed that the U.S. is investigating Iran’s claim that an incident at a wedding hall in southern Iran on September 1, which resulted in dozens of casualties, was caused by a U.S. military airstrike.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.