WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (The Changer) — The United States will not resume negotiations with Iran unless Tehran stops attacking commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday, tying any return to diplomacy directly to security in one of the world’s most important energy corridors.
Speaking at a White House briefing, Vance said Washington was not currently negotiating with Tehran and made clear that attacks on commercial vessels had become the immediate obstacle to renewed talks. “They’ve got to stop. It’s that simple,” Vance said when asked about the prospect of negotiations. Reuters and CBS News separately reported the same U.S. position.
The remarks came as tensions between Washington and Tehran flared again following a period of relative calm. Iran has disrupted maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict, while the United States has deployed significant naval forces to the region and sought to keep commercial oil shipments moving through the strategic waterway.
Vance also declined to give a timeline for when the confrontation with Iran could end, saying that would depend in large part on Tehran’s actions against shipping. He pushed back against describing the current phase as a war, arguing that major U.S. combat operations had ended even though fighting had recently flared again.
The position marks a potentially significant diplomatic threshold. President Donald Trump has recently expressed little interest in negotiations with Tehran, while Vance’s comments suggest Washington has not ruled out diplomacy altogether — but has conditioned any renewed engagement on Iran halting attacks against commercial vessels in Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the confrontation because prolonged disruption there threatens international energy supplies and has helped keep oil and fuel prices elevated. Vance said U.S. efforts to facilitate oil shipping had helped prevent a broader energy crisis, but acknowledged he could not predict when Iran would stop targeting ships or when the wider confrontation would end.