Vance says Trump is sending Iran a message with AI-generated attack video

An AI-generated video showing missiles raining down on Iran’s Kharg Island was designed to deliver a warning, US Vice President JD Vance said, as Washington and Tehran exchanged fire after weeks of renewed tensions.

President Donald Trump posted the video on Truth Social on Sunday night. On Monday, he followed it with statements calling Iran “dead” and a “failed nation.” Vance said the messages were aimed at stopping Iran from threatening commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

“We know that they continue to shoot at commercial shipping. We continue to have a lot of tools at our disposal to prevent them from doing so or at least cut down on them from doing so, and that’s what the president is saying,” Vance told reporters at an Air Force base in Maryland. He added: “‘You guys are shooting at commercial shipping. You guys are behaving like a terrorist country. You’ve got to stop or there are going to be some consequences.'”

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We know that they continue to shoot at commercial shipping. We continue to have a lot of tools at our disposal to prevent them from doing so or at least cut down on them from doing so, and that’s what the president is saying.

Kharg Island, in the Gulf, processes about 90% of Iran’s oil exports. Trump has threatened to attack the island and take control of it since the United States and Israel began their war on Iran on February 28. US forces struck military facilities there in March but avoided oil infrastructure.

The latest confrontation followed a US announcement that it had targeted launchers on Iran’s Larak Island as they prepared to fire naval mines into the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has spent months trying to clear mines and reopen the passage for commercial shipping. Iran later launched missiles at three airbases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates where US forces are stationed, although none reached its targets. The account also noted a US deal with Venezuela that would give Washington majority control of the country’s oil reserves after the abduction of former President Nicolas Maduro in January.

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You guys are shooting at commercial shipping. You guys are behaving like a terrorist country. You’ve got to stop or there are going to be some consequences.