The United States vowed to impose its “toughest sanctions” against Iran this week and warned that its supporters would also face “tremendous” consequences. US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance now appear to be on the same page, despite previously sharing discordant views about the escalating conflict and high oil and gas prices.
Appearing on a podcast episode on Thursday (US time), Vance engaged in a wide-ranging conversation in which he spoke in favour of applying “economic pressure” on Tehran while simultaneously signalling that it could become a double-edged sword for the United States.
His remarks come hot on the heels of Trump declaring an “Economic D-Day” threat against Iran and any country providing it with a “lifeline” in any way. Threatening to impose “draconian sanctions” on Tehran, he asserted that any nation emerging as its ally would also face hefty “economic consequences” as part of what he described as an “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale.”
Elsewhere, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besset also told CNBC on Thursday that the US will impose “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran, urging Beijing to cooperate even as China said sanctions wouldn’t help resolve the issue.
What’s JD Vance’s take on Trump’s ‘Economic D-Day’ threat?
Right off the bat, while discussing the Iran issue on ‘The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show,’ JD Vance again acknowledged that Americans are seeing elevated prices at the pump but maintained that “they have come down substantially from their high point.”
This month, US gas prices have been the highest ever recorded for August. According to AAA’s data, the national average price of gas was $4.06 per gallon on Monday, $0.05 higher than last week and $1 more expensive than a year ago. As of August 20, the AAA national average hit $4.1044 a gallon.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, climbed 2.4% and closed at $93.78 per barrel on Thursday (US time). Oil prices surged more than 3% earlier in the session following Trump’s “most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country” threat on Truth Social.
Overall, energy prices have seen new heights since the US and Israel launched a joint military action against Iran on February 28. Since then, the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes, has been largely blocked, while the US and Iran’s tussle for control of the crucial waterway sees no end.
In March, Brent crude soared to $112 a barrel, an all-time high not recorded since 2022. Even as prices have come down in recent months, they remain considerably higher than pre-war levels.
During the podcast, Vance also asserted that the since-dropping prices may be attributed to the US getting “a lot of oil and gas” out of the strait despite attacks happening in the vicinity. Calling it the Iranians’ “leverage point,” the American vice president reiterated that Tehran seeks to close the waterway down.
“If we can… get enough oil and gas out to give some Americans some ease on energy prices, meanwhile, the Iranians are punished for shooting at commercial ships… that just applies a lot of economic pressure to them,” Vance said on ‘The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.’
He stressed that Trump has left options open to Iran about either bearing witness to their economy being “strangled for the rest of time” or having a better relationship with the West.
“But if they’re going to shoot at ships. If they’re going to engage in terrorism against commercial vessels,” Vance added, “We’re going to do everything that we can to make sure they’re not able to do that.”
Seeing the new developments on the war front as a “new phase,” Vance said that America’s “most effective tool” against Iran now is “economic pressure.” However, he also admitted that it is a “delicate dance” because as the US imposes sanctions, Iran will, in turn, “apply economic pressure” to Washington.
Despite it, Vance insisted that the toll of it all would be more pronounced on the Iranian side. He again reminded that the ultimate goal here is to ensure that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon.
“Their nuclear facilities are destroyed, but the question is, do they try to rebuild them?” he continued, adding that the US is trying to create a “changed reality on the ground” that ensures the “rebuilding” of such facilities can’t happen either.
Trump-Vance divide on price hikes
Both top leaders of the United States seemed to have ranked priorities differently a few days ago, hinting at a sense of division between them. However, White House officials ultimately rejected those claims.
Speaking with Fox News recently, Vance said the current administration’s top priority amid the ongoing chaos is to keep gas prices down, followed by stopping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
“That’s goal number one – keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country and then obviously goal number two is ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon,” he said on “The Will Cain Show.”
Trump, on the other hand, eventually took to his social media platform to seemingly contradict Vance’s statement. “The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon,” the POTUS wrote on Truth Social. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Addressing a rally crowd recently, Trump even assumed an unapologetic stance about launching military action against Iran and stressed that price hikes were worth the cost if they ensured that Tehran never possesses a nuclear weapon. Pushing for lower gas prices was among one of Trump’s signature campaign prices ahead of his presidential return last year.
When outgoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about Vance’s delivery earlier this month, she initially said, “Both goals are equally as important to the president.” Her comments came before Trump’s clarification about a single goal on Truth Social.
Meanwhile, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly rubbished the claims of a “divide” between Trump and Vance.
“There is no divide,” she told The Washington Post. “President Trump has been clear that Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon, and the entire administration is behind him as he works to eliminate this threat that politicians talked about, but never acted upon for 47 years. Vice President Vance is doing a great job advancing the President’s agenda to protect our homeland from a terrorist regime.”
Vance, who has a history of being vocally critical of America’s entanglement in foreign conflicts, was also asked about the supposed differences between him and Trump on Iran by Fox News’ Laura Ingraham earlier this month.
“No, look, the president and I, first of all, he makes the decisions, and we all try to implement the decisions in accordance with the president’s wishes,” he replied. “He makes orders. We of course have debates and conversations about what exactly we should do. But when the president of the United States makes a decision, we are unified in this administration in carrying out that mission.”