Vice President JD Vance says the top US objective in its conflict with Iran isn't Tehran's nuclear program, it's keeping Americans' fuel costs down. "I know that oil is down today and it's way down from the highs in the early days of the conflict," Vance said on Fox News on Thursday. "That's goal number one—keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country," he said. "And then obviously goal number two is ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon." His comments mark another shift in the public explanation for the war, which the Trump administration has variously framed as supporting Iranian protesters, curbing nuclear ambitions, and pressuring or even removing the regime, NBC News reports.
The remarks came as Washington leans harder on economic tools and a naval chokehold rather than direct military escalation. President Trump claims the US has "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has slowed to a fraction of prewar levels amid American blockades and Iranian attacks on ships, including two Abu Dhabi-linked tankers hit by drones Thursday. An Iranian military spokesman said Thursday that "no vessel can safely transit the Strait of Hormuz without Iran's authorization and supervision."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the US can maintain the blockade "indefinitely," while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is promising unprecedented sanctions. "We are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country," he said Thursday. Oil prices remain elevated, with Brent crude about 45% above January levels and US gas averaging over $4 a gallon, up from below $3 just before the war. It's peak summer driving season, and gas prices have never been this high this late in the year before, Bloomberg reports. At this time last year, the average prices was $3.20 a gallon.
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