Iran: Economic, military, diplomatic or covert pressure? Vance on Trump’s tools for dealing with Iran

vice president of the united states J.D. Vance He said Thursday that the Trump administration has several options for dealing with Iran, ranging from economic and diplomatic pressure to military and covert action, as the seven-month conflict between Washington and Tehran continues to escalate.Vance, speaking at a news conference, said the administration would keep its plans private to preserve US President Donald Trump’s flexibility in deciding how to respond to Iran.“There are many additional tools that we have at our disposal. Some of them the president will use and some he will not,” Vance said.“But everything that could happen is on the table. Economic pressure, military pressure, diplomatic pressure, covert pressure. “Of course, these are tools in the president’s toolbox,” he added.The vice president said Washington’s strategy was also driven by concerns about a possible global energy crisis, accusing Iran of continuing attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.“We would have had an energy crisis because the Iranians refuse to stop acting like terrorists in the Strait of Hormuz,” Vance said, while defending US military operations aimed at protecting commercial vessels and keeping oil and gas supplies moving.Vance declined to outline what steps Washington might take in the coming months, saying the administration needed to maintain the element of uncertainty.“Part of the reason they are tools in the toolkit is because the vice president, hopefully, isn’t foolish enough to stand up before all of you and a million Americans watching at home and say exactly what it is we plan to do,” Vance said.

Trump weighs ending war

Vance’s comments come as the Trump administration appears to be weighing its next step in a conflict that has shown few signs of a lasting agreement.A Wall Street Journal report said Trump is privately considering declaring an end to the war, as the United States approaches midterm elections and energy prices remain elevated due to the conflict. At the same time, the Pentagon has expanded troop deployments to West Asia, suggesting the military confrontation could continue into next year.The uncertainty occurs in the context of new strikes. US Central Command said US forces had struck multiple sites inside Iran, while Tehran launched attacks on US-linked facilities across the Gulf.Trump indicated Wednesday that he hoped the conflict would end soon and said it would not continue “for much longer.”Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said U.S. forces had carried out a “very strong strike” against Iran the night before, targeting recently deployed military equipment along the Strait of Hormuz, including radars and missile-related systems.“We hit them hard last night, very hard. They gave a little love bump, but we hit them very hard last night,” Trump said.

Beijing much more responsible than Tehran: Vance

Vance said China is “willing to cooperate” with Washington’s efforts to economically isolate Iran, despite current differences between the United States and China.Asked whether the U.S.-led “Operation Economic Pariah” could succeed without China’s cooperation, Vance said Beijing was “willing to cooperate.”While acknowledging “some political disagreements” and “misalignment of interests” with China, Vance said Beijing was “much more responsible” than Tehran.“Say what you want about them…they are not the kind of nation that shoots down commercial shipping because they don’t get their way in an international dispute,” he said, referring to Iran’s attacks on commercial shipping.Vance clarified that China’s willingness to cooperate did not mean it was complying with all US requests.

Economic pressure increases

The latest escalation also follows Washington’s launch of “Operation Economic Pariah”, a campaign unveiled by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to intensify financial pressure on Tehran.Bessent also announced that the EU has joined Trump’s aggressive decision to economically suffocate Iran.The operation focuses on sectors that Washington considers critical to Iran’s economy, including oil, shipping, aviation and digital assets.The US Treasury has said the campaign is aimed at restricting Iran’s access to international financial networks and stifling revenue streams that Washington alleges support the Iranian government.