Vice President JD Vance says Iran is running out of time — and options.
With President Donald Trump’s 12-hour deadline looming Tuesday, Vance laid out what he called “two pathways” for how the war ends, as pressure builds on Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face sweeping strikes.
Speaking in Hungary, Vance also struck a moral note, saying he is praying the United States is on “God’s side” in its effort to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“There are two pathways that this thing is ultimately going to end. First of all, the United States has largely accomplished its military objectives,” Vance said. “There are still some things that we’d like to do, for example, on Iranian ability to manufacture weapons, that we’d like to do a little bit more work on militarily. But fundamentally, the military objectives of the United States have been completed.”
Vance then laid out what he described as a stark fork in the road for Tehran.
“I think there really are two pathways, and I’m oversimplifying this a little bit, but I think pathway one is where the Iranians decide they’re going to be a normal country. They’re not going to fund terrorism anymore. They’re going to be part of the world system of commerce and exchange,” Vance continued. “And that’s going to mean much better things for them economically. It’s going to mean better things for the peace and safety of the world. It’s going to mean a lot of good things for a lot of people all over the planet. That’s option A.”
The alternative, he warned, is continued isolation and decline.
“Option B is that the Iranians don’t come to the table and they stay committed to terrorism, to terrorizing their neighbors, not just Israel but of course their Arab neighbors too. Then the economic situation in Iran is going to continue to be very, very bad. And frankly, it will probably get worse,” the vice president said.
Vance emphasized that the U.S. believes it holds the upper hand economically and militarily as the deadline approaches.
“The president also has been very clear that while the Iranians are trying to exact as much economic cost through the Strait of Hormuz, the United States has the ability to extract much greater economic costs on Iran than Iran has an ability to extract costs on us or on our friends in the world,” Vance also said. “So I hope that they’re smart. The president has set a deadline for about 12 hours from now, and the United States, we’re going to find out. But there’s going to be a lot of negotiation between now and then, and I’m hopeful that it gets to a good resolution.”
The administration’s message is blunt: make a deal — or brace for what comes next.
Watch the clip above.
