WASHINGTON, July 16 (ANI): US Vice President JD Vance defended continued diplomatic engagement with Iran despite renewed hostilities, arguing that the conflict cannot be resolved through military force alone and that negotiations remain essential to address security challenges in the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking during an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience released Wednesday, Vance said he was frustrated by calls to abandon diplomacy with Tehran.
“I’m very frustrated by the Americans, and frankly by people in other countries who are like, you cannot negotiate with the Iranians,” Vance said.
Vance, who has led US efforts to engage Iran over its nuclear program, acknowledged that negotiations have stalled amid disputes related to the Strait of Hormuz. His remarks came as President Donald Trump questioned the value of continuing talks, calling them “a waste of time dealing with them” as hostilities resumed.
Defending the diplomatic track, Vance argued that Iran’s ability to threaten shipping through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz means military action alone cannot provide a lasting solution.
“You can bomb them, you can take away their radar, you can take away some of their drones and some of their missiles, but it’s just too easy to fire at ships in the straits,” Vance said. “So you’ve got to actually be willing to talk and to try to figure out the problem.”
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he does not like setting deadlines when asked whether he had given Iran an ultimatum before ordering strikes on its bridges. He also warned that Tehran “better behave” amid the renewed exchange of fire between the two sides in West Asia following the collapse of the memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict.
Responding to a question on whether he had given Tehran a deadline before initiating strikes on civilian infrastructure inside Iran, Trump said, “I don’t like giving deadlines, but they pretty much know—they know the story. They better behave.”
Trump made the remarks after arriving in Pennsylvania to participate in the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit.
On the Iranian side, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Wednesday that the Islamic Republic has no plans to resume negotiations with the United States amid the escalating military confrontation between the two countries in West Asia, according to Iranian state media Press TV.
Baghaei said Tehran is currently focused on defending itself against ongoing US military operations and no longer considers itself bound by the memorandum of understanding signed with Washington that had been intended to end hostilities in the region. (ANI)
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