Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,
Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on "The Michael Knowles Show" published Tuesday that the US would use the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran to "refill" global oil supplies and stockpiles and to prepare for more potential military action against the Islamic Republic.
"I think what the president has told us to do is use this MoU to sort of refill the world's oil economy, to refill some stocks, and then to see where the hand is," the vice president said.
"And … if the Iranians are willing to make the commitments that we would like them to make and are willing to back those up with verifiable milestones, then we are going to change our relationship with Iran. And if they don't do that, then nothing has really changed except for what we’ve already accomplished from the military campaign, which is a lot. So, we kind of have two options here. We have the option of pursuing a long-term deal with the Iranians, but that requires a significant change in their behavior. We have the option of banking our wins and then, of course, doing things on top of that if the president feels that we have to. And I think both of those options are very much in play," he added.
Summarizing the position, Knowles said, "So then the message if you’re an Iranian, the message you’re getting from the US is not, okay, we’ve settled this, you get to keep the Strait of Hormuz and we’ll try to play nice. Now, the message is we’re going to serve our self-interest by replenishing the oil coffers and get back to us in 60 days, you might have some fire and brimstone coming back down."
Vance didn’t dispute Knowles’ characterization and said, "And if you actually behave, you won’t, right?"
Trita Parsi, the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said in a post on X that Vance's comments heightened suspicion in Iran that the war will restart despite the MoU. He made the comments in a post discussing the view in Iranian political circles that Israel may launch an attack before Israeli elections are held in October.
“Will Israel restart the war with Iran before the October elections? This is the consensus view emerging within Iran’s internal national security debate over the past week,” Parsi said.
"Several factors are driving Tehran to this conclusion. Beyond its deep—and not entirely unwarranted—suspicion of President Donald Trump’s intentions, heightened by Vice President JD Vance’s recent remark that Trump wants to use the MOU to replenish global oil reserves and then 'see where the hand is,' two developments stand out: the recent Israeli-Lebanese agreement and its impact on Hezbollah’s military posture over the coming months," he added.
Full interview: