US Vice President JD Vance blamed Iran on Thursday for rising fuel prices following attacks on commercial shipping and sharply criticized European countries for failing to do enough to ensure the continued flow of global energy supplies.
"The basic reality is that the reason gas prices are so high right now is that the Iranians are shooting at commercial shipping," Vance said. According to him, Iran resumed firing at vessels shortly after signing an agreement in which it committed to stop doing so.
Vance directed most of his criticism at Washington's European allies.
"I think it illustrates the ridiculous degeneration that we've seen from our European allies and their inability to actually do anything to help maintain a regular supply to the world's energy markets," he said.
According to Vance, Iranian fire has led some vessels to avoid the area, but traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has continued.
"Just yesterday, we got about 15 million barrels through the Strait of Hormuz, despite the Iranians continuing to shoot," he said. "And what has anybody else in the world done? Why should the United States be the only country in the world capable of ensuring that global energy markets continue to be supplied?"
The vice president presented what he described as two options facing Washington: withdraw and allow oil and gas supplies to be disrupted, or continue acting to prevent Iranian attacks from triggering a global energy crisis. According to Vance, Arab Gulf countries have also warned the US administration that withdrawing would be "the worst thing in the world."
Vance declined to say when fuel prices in the United States would return to $3, but argued that without American action they could be significantly higher. "We have to remember why we're doing this," he said. "First of all, so that Iran never has a nuclear weapon. And secondly, what we're doing right now is protecting commercial shipping to ensure that we don't have a global energy crisis."
Vance: US solely responsible for oil coming through the Hormuz
"We're the only country in the world that can guarantee, as you've heard the president say, control of the Strait of Hormuz," he said. Vance sought to demonstrate his point by saying that "the Iranians would like zero million barrels of oil to come out of the Strait of Hormuz. Last night, 15 million barrels came out of the strait."
"That's happening because of the United States," he said.
According to Vance, "If we don't do it, nobody else is going to do it."
"And if nobody else did it, we would face a catastrophic global energy crisis," he stressed. "Our message to the Iranians is simple," he said, adding that "it has been the same from the beginning: You have to stop shooting at commercial shipping."
"They have to stop," Vance reiterated. "It is that simple."
Vance also addressed negotiations. "The president has been very clear," he said. "We're not talking to them, and we're not going to talk to them, unless they stop shooting at commercial vessels."
When asked about the escalation in fire, he said: "I wouldn't call it a war. Right now there is no active shooting. I recognize that there have been places where it has flared up again, and there have been significant combat operations."
"The significant combat operations lasted about six weeks, and since then, of course, we destroyed their nuclear facilities as part of 'Midnight Hammer.' We destroyed their defense-industrial base for producing weapons, and also a large part of their conventional military," he added.
"And then we made it harder for them to rebuild their nuclear program," he said..
Looking ahead, Vance said that the US will "use the tools at our disposal to ensure, first, that the American people never have to face the threat of an Iranian nuclear program; and second, that global energy markets are properly supplied."
Vance: How it all ends depends on the Iranians
"So when does this end? That depends on the Iranians," he said.
"If the Iranians continue shooting at commercial vessels, I think we have a responsibility to act, and certainly we are the only ones who have the capability to ensure that the Iranians don't destroy global energy markets," he added.
"Our approach is that we're not going to set an artificial timetable," Vance said.
"Let's say, hypothetically, that I told you three months, or I told you three days, and then the Iranians start blowing up oil and gas ships, and the United States is the only country that has the capability to ensure that those oil and gas ships make it to market. I would say it would be irresponsible for us to lay out in advance our strategy and our timetable against an Iranian state that is simply incapable of keeping its commitments and incapable of stopping."
Vance also addressed concerns over potential Iranian cyberattacks in the US. "The American public should know that its government is obsessively focused both on identifying any possible cyber threat in advance, on providing an appropriate response to it, and on ensuring that it does not materialize," he stressed.
"If you look at the Iranian capability to disrupt the daily lives of Americans, I think it's pretty limited. It's not zero, but it's very limited," Vance said. "I would be much more concerned about cyberattacks from other actors."
However, he stressed that "we're doing everything we can to stay one step ahead of these things, and I think we're the best."
"We have the best government in the world when it comes to anticipating and preventing cyberattacks," he added.
"And so what I would say to the American public is that it is a risk that exists, but I don't think it's wise to worry too much about vague risks like that," Vance concluded.