US Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration still has “two options” if Iran fails to honour the memorandum of understanding (MoU) that brought an end to the recent conflict, asserting that Washington
retains both diplomatic and military leverage while seeking a lasting agreement with Tehran.
Speaking on The Michael Knowles Show on Monday, Vance said the White House was prepared either to pursue a long-term agreement with Iran or build on the gains achieved during the military campaign should Tehran fail to make verifiable commitments.
“We have two options. We have the option of pursuing a long-term deal with the Iranians, and that requires a significant change in behavior. We have the option of banking our wins from the military campaign and, of course, doing things on top of that if the president feels that we have to. I think both those options are very much on the table,” Vance said.
He added that President Donald Trump was allowing the situation to evolve while ensuring there was “significantly less pressure on the global energy economy.”
Vance’s remarks echo comments he made during an earlier interview with Laura Ingraham, in which he argued that Washington remained in a favourable position regardless of how negotiations with Tehran ultimately unfolded.
“I actually think that the United States is in a great position however the negotiation ultimately shakes out. If the negotiation is successful, which obviously we want it to be successful, you have an Iran that is permanently transformed… if, on the other hand, the Iranians don’t behave… their nuclear program is still destroyed, their conventional military is still destroyed, and the United States is still in a much stronger position relative to the Iranians,” Vance had said.
🔴 Vance Says US Is Using the Iran Deal to “Refill” the Oil Market, Then “See Where the Hand Is”
🔸 US Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration is using the memorandum that ended the war with Iran “to sort of refill the world’s oil economy… and then to see where… https://t.co/8U5rfJ0C9q pic.twitter.com/t7f5Hvs7B1
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) July 1, 2026
Referring to the recovery in oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz after the conflict, Vance said global energy supplies were gradually returning to normal, even though overall maritime traffic remained below pre-war levels.
“So far, what we’ve seen is oil traffic has reached its pre-war height. I think what the president wants to do is use this MoU to sort of refill the world’s oil economy, refill some stocks, and then to see where they end up,” he said.
Vance said Washington would be prepared to reset its relationship with Tehran if Iran made commitments acceptable to the US and backed them with verifiable action.
“If the Iranians are willing to make a commitment that we like, and they’re willing to back those up verifiably, then we’re going to change our relationship with Iran. And if they don’t do that, then nothing is going to change except for what we’ve already accomplished with the military campaign,” he said.
