The White House on Tuesday (local time) denied that US Vice President JD Vance’s remarks regarding military operations in Iran contained any hint of a nuclear strike against the Islamic Republic.
The development comes after a video of Vance, who is in Hungary, was posted on an account linked to former Vice President Kamala Harris, who said Vance suggested Trump “may use nuclear weapons,” AFP reported.
Read also | Vance hopes for deadline as Trump ramps up pressure: “He’s going to get an answer…”
The White House issued a clarification in a post on X, saying, “Literally nothing the VP has said here ‘suggests’ this, you absolute morons.” The clarification came after a video was posted online in which Vance said: “We have tools in our toolbox that we haven’t decided to use yet.” The vice president added that US President Donald Trump can and will choose to use them if the Iranians “don’t change their behavior.”
He noted that “Iran will no longer be allowed to harm the global economy with its terrorist intentions,” adding that he hoped Iran would make a proper response by 8 p.m. ET, Trump’s deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to the Islamic Republic.
Vance went on to say that the US wants a world “where oil and gas flow freely.”
Read also | US-Iran war LIVE: Russia, China veto UN resolution to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Trump threatens Iran
The development comes as Trump’s deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and accept a cease-fire deal nears its end. Earlier on April 5, the US president posted on Truth Social: “Tuesday, 8:00 PM ET!” Many believe that Trump’s message could indicate the timing of an upcoming attack on Tehran.
Read also | Trump warns Iran, says ‘whole country could be destroyed overnight’
In another message, he wrote: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day all rolled into one in Iran. Nothing like it!!! Open the fucking strait you crazy b***s or live in hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”
Trump doubled down on his threats, saying at his press conference earlier Monday that the entire country could be wiped out overnight.
Continuing his threats against the Islamic Republic, Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday: “All civilization is going to die tonight, never to be brought back. I don’t want it to happen, but it probably will.”
IRGC warns US, allies
Days after Trump’s warning, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also issued a warning to the US and its partners on Tuesday, saying it would target US and its partners’ infrastructure if Washington crossed a “red line”. The Islamic Republic’s paramilitary forces have also threatened to disrupt regional oil and gas supplies for years to come.
Read also | IRGC Warns Neighboring Countries: “Restriction Is Over”
The US-Iran war is escalating
The escalation of the war comes as Tehran rejected a second ceasefire proposal presented by the US, calling it “illogical”. The Islamic Republic delivered its message to Washington through Pakistan, one of the mediators in the ongoing conflict.
According to a Reuters report, an Iranian official said that on Monday, Qatar conveyed a message to Tehran, the US and regional countries that if Washington attacks power plants in the Islamic Republic, “the whole region and Saudi Arabia will be plunged into complete darkness with Iranian retaliatory strikes.”
The source also said that Tehran will not show flexibility as long as Washington continues to demand the country’s surrender under pressure. He further said that if the situation gets out of control, Iran’s allies will close the Bab El-Mandeb Strait.
