Vance against Europe: "Why should only the US have to guarantee energy supplies?"

US Vice President J.D. Vance blamed Iran today (Thursday) for rising fuel prices following the firing at commercial ships and sharply criticized European countries, which he said are not doing enough to ensure the continuation of global energy supplies.

"The basic reality is that the reason fuel prices are so high right now is that the Iranians are firing at commercial shipping," Vance said. According to him, Iran returned to firing at vessels shortly after signing an agreement in which it committed to stop doing so.

Vance directed most of the criticism at the United States' allies in Europe. "I think it illustrates the ridiculous degradation we've seen from our allies in Europe and their inability to actually do something to help maintain regular supplies to global energy markets," he attacked.

According to him, the Iranian firing is causing some ships to avoid passing through the area, but traffic in the Strait of Hormuz continues. "Just yesterday we moved about 15 million barrels through the Strait of Hormuz, even though the Iranians continue to fire," he said. "And what has anyone 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 receive supplies?".

The Vice President presented two options that he says face Washington: to retreat and allow damage to oil and gas supplies, or to continue acting to prevent the Iranian attacks from leading to a global energy crisis. According to him, even the Arab countries in the Gulf warned the American administration that a retreat would be "the worst thing in the world".

Vance refrained from committing to when fuel prices in the United States will return to the three-dollar level, but argued that without American activity they could have been significantly higher. "We need to remember why we are doing this," he said. "First of all, so that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. And secondly, what we are doing now is protecting commercial shipping to ensure that we don't have a global energy crisis".

"We are the only country in the world that can guarantee, as you heard the President say, control over the Strait of Hormuz," he asserted. He proved 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". "This is happening thanks to the United States," he clarified.

According to Vance, "if we don't do it, no one else will". "And if no one else had done it, we would have faced a catastrophic global energy crisis," he emphasized. "Our message to the Iranians is simple," he said. According to him, "it has been the same from the beginning: you must stop firing at commercial shipping". "They must stop," he reiterated his position. "It's that simple".

Vance also addressed the negotiations. "The President was very clear," he said. "We are not talking to them, and we will not talk to them - unless they stop firing at commercial ships," he asserted. Regarding the escalation in firing, he said that "I wouldn't call it a war. Right now there is no active firing. I acknowledge that there were places where it flared up again and there were significant combat operations".

According to him, "the significant combat operations lasted about six weeks, and since then we have, of course, destroyed their nuclear facilities as part of 'Midnight Hammer'. We destroyed their defense-industrial base for weapons production, and also a large part of their conventional military". "And then we made it harder for them to rebuild the nuclear program," he explained.

As for the future: "What we are going to do does not depend on the Iranians behaving responsibly or negotiating in good faith". Vance explained that "we 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 receive proper supplies".

"Therefore, when this ends - it depends on the Iranians," he emphasized. However, he clarified that "if the Iranians continue to fire at commercial ships, I think we have a responsibility to act, and certainly we are the only ones who have the ability to ensure that the Iranians do not destroy global energy markets".

According to him, "our approach is that we will not set an artificial timetable. 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 ability to ensure that these oil and gas ships reach the market - I would say it would be irresponsible of us to lay out our strategy and our timetable in advance before an Iranian state that is simply incapable of meeting its commitments and is incapable of stopping".