'If They Shoot at Ships, US Will Punch Back Harder': JD Vance Warns Iran Over Strait of Hormuz

Wisconsin: US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday (local time) warned Iran of further military action if it continues attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the United States would respond "harder than ever before" to protect freedom of navigation and energy flows.

Speaking on Iran's nuclear programme and recent tensions in the region, Vance said, "Their nuclear program was destroyed, their conventional military was destroyed."

"The basic deal that we cut was: we'll lift our blockade if you stop shooting at ships. But if you shoot at ships, we are going to punch back, and we're going to punch back harder than ever before. That was the deal!" he said.

Vance alleged that Iran had resumed attacks on shipping despite agreeing to stop such actions.

"They said they would stop shooting at ships, and what happened 24 hours ago? They started shooting at ships again! Now, they were good, they were well-behaved for about a week, but then they started shooting at ships," he said.

"So the deal is very simple: if they shoot at ships, we're going to knock the hell out of them, and it's that simple, and that's the basic way it's going to work," Vance added.

Vance said US President Donald Trump has multiple options available, but did not disclose details of any possible future action.

"The President maintains a lot of options. I'm obviously not going to tell you exactly what's going to happen tonight," he said.

Vance said Washington's priority was ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open for global energy supplies.

"The President has said to them very simply: the Strait of Hormuz is going to be open. That means oil and gas are going to flow to the American people," he said.

"That's why we see gas prices starting to come down, that's why we see the oil price so low, is because the President said that crucial artery through which we ship a lot of the world's energy, that artery has got to remain open," he added.

Warning Iran against attempts to block the strategic waterway, Vance said, "If they try to close it down, there's going to be a response from the American military. It's that simple! That's the deal!"

"They can either follow it, or they can have exactly what happened to them last night -- it's just going to keep on happening until they open up that lane and stop shooting at ships," he added.

Meanwhile, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade Tehran's ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

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