US Vice President JD Vance said the US will not trust Tehran’s pledges but will verify its actions in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that Iranians have told Washington they have no plans to impose transit fees on vessels passing through the energy corridor.
“You know, we don't trust, we verify. We actually look not at people's words, but people's deeds,” Vance told Fox News “Saturday in America.”
Vance's remarks came when he was asked what an acceptable outcome would look like for the strait, where the war has disrupted shipping and energy traffic.
The Vice President said the US has made progress in negotiations with Iran over the past several days, while cautioning that Tehran has not yet delivered everything the Trump administration is seeking.
“The question is whether they're able, their system is able to give the things that are necessary for us to be happy, for us to feel like we've gotten what we need out of this particular engagement. That is still to be determined, but I do think that we've made some progress over the last few days,” Vance said.
Speaking about Operation Epic Fury, the Vice President noted that the Iranians “are hurting in a big way. They want this thing to be over.”
Vance did not provide details of the changes demanded by Washington, but he threatened to continue to pressure Tehran if it refused to respond.
“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,” he said, adding that “if not, that's fine, too. 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.”
Vance said: “If you go back and remember what it is that we've done here, we've destroyed their nuclear program, we've destroyed their conventional military, we've radically reduced their, what you might call their asymmetric military abilities. And 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.”
He noted that the administration is talking with Iran and expects to see the same amount of oil and gas come out of the Gulf that the region saw before the conflict started.
“That is what the Iranians have told us that they are going to do. That's what the entire Gulf coalition wants to do as well. But, you know, we don't trust, we verify. We actually look not at people's words, but people's deeds,” Vance said.
He said some people within the Iranian system talk about tolling, but added that the “Iranians have told us they have no plans to toll the Strait of Hormuz. But again, we're going to see what actions actually happen.”
Traffic and Demining
The comments come as Iran says its negotiations with Oman over arrangements for traffic through the Strait of Hormuz are close to an agreement, while Tehran maintains that fully reopening the waterway remains subject to additional conditions.
“What's been going on for the past week or so is that the Iranians and the Gulf countries, particularly Oman, have been talking about how to ensure the safe flow of traffic,” Vance said.
“The one problem, of course, is the Iranians laid a large number of mines at the beginning of the war. And so what we're really working through now is how you can actually set up a traffic scheme so that the ships that pass can pass through safely. That includes, of course, demining.”
The vice president said the US wants “a commitment from the Iranians that they're not going to fire at commercial vessels.”
“The final thing I'll say about this... is I try to remind people that we're really in the middle of the game here,” he said.
“This thing is not over. It's obviously not at the beginning, we're in the middle of the game and we're applying a whole host of tools -- diplomatic, economic, military tools to ensure that we get the best outcome for the American people,” Vance also said. “I feel quite confident we will get there, but we're still a bit in the middle of the game.”
