Vance Says Iran’s Leadership Is Willing to Take Extreme Measures to Disrupt Gulf Shipping

JD Vance described Iran’s leadership as willing to risk disrupting the Gulf’s oil and gas traffic, saying the United States is now directing a large share of its regional activity toward the Strait of Hormuz.

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Really, really crazy.

In an interview with Fox News, the vice president said one lesson from the war with Iran was that its leadership was “really, really crazy.” He accused Iranian forces of preparing to lay mines in the strait, and said the United States had recently responded.

Vance also said Iranian forces sometimes fire on their own allies to stop the free flow of oil and gas. Asked whether that concern explained US moves in Venezuela to increase oil production, he said it did not, although he called the outcome a positive benefit.

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What strikes me as strange is that sometimes they even fire on their own allies, just to prevent the free flow of oil and gas.

A US official confirmed that American forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island on Sunday night. The official said forces from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps appeared to be preparing to fire toward the Strait of Hormuz. The strike marked the first US attack on Iran in several weeks.

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That is not the reason we are doing it, but it is certainly a positive benefit of the move.