JD Vance implies: Top goal against Iran is cheap oil for the US, preventing nuclear weapons comes second

U.S. Vice President JD Vance suggested on Thursday that U.S. economic interests are the top priority in the conflict with the Iranian regime, with preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons coming second.

The comments came as the United States continued its naval blockade, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent promised to steadily increase pressure through economic “measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation.”

At the same time, Israel’s security establishment is closely monitoring the situation and preparing for a possible renewal of fighting that could draw Israel back into the conflict. On Friday, The Jerusalem Post reported that defense officials from the Israeli military and Mossad were “shocked” by the speed of the Iranian regime’s recovery, particularly in its missile production capabilities.

U.S. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper visited Israel on Monday to discuss the Iran situation with senior IDF commanders, according to the JPost. 

Vance’s comments came during an interview with Fox News.

While he didn’t explicitly express a hierarchy of priorities among the war goals, he noted that the U.S. was trying to ensure that oil can flow out of the Gulf countries. He then said “goal number one, keep oil and gasoline cheap for Americans… and then, obviously, goal number two is ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.”

“I feel confident we’re accomplishing both of those goals, but it’s inherently an unpredictable thing, because the Iranians themselves are unpredictable, and they sometimes don’t honor the commitments they’ve made to us,” Vance added.

The vice president has faced strong criticism in Israel in recent months, including over his suggestion that a “very discreet, extremely well-funded campaign” in Israel was seeking to “derail the negotiation” with Iran. He also claimed that U.S. President Donald Trump is the only leader “in the entire world ‌who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this ‌moment in time.”

“Sometimes we’re focused on the energy piece of it because we want Americans to be able to afford the price of oil and gas. Sometimes we’re obviously focused on the military nature of it. Sometimes we’re focused on the nuclear program,” Vance added.

Also on Thursday, Bessent told Newsmax that the U.S. is preparing “a combination of economic isolation like the world has never seen before, and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports.”

On the Iranian side, officials continued to threaten the U.S. while negotiations appeared to make little progress, despite Trump repeatedly promising an agreement to be imminent over the past weeks.

On Friday, the Lebanese Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al-Akhbar quoted an unnamed Iranian commander in the IRGC Navy as saying he expects the war to resume “in the near future because the United States does not abide by its promises and agreements.”

Regarding reports that the U.S. could attempt to take physical control of islands or coastal areas around the Strait of Hormuz, the commander warned that the regime’s response would be “beyond all expectations.”

“An historic response should be expected if such an attack begins, with no target on our target bank being immune, whether small or large.”

“The American military will not be able to establish its presence on the Iranian islands, even if it dares to carry out a ground attack against them. It may be able to launch an attack with Marine forces and then withdraw immediately. Remaining on the islands is impossible,” he warned.