Washington DC: US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said the Trump administration has a broad range of options to respond to Iran, including economic, military, diplomatic and covert measures, as hostilities between Washington and Tehran continue to intensify.
Speaking to reporters, Vance said the administration would deliberately keep its plans private, arguing that publicly outlining its strategy could restrict President Donald Trump’s ability to make decisions as the conflict develops.
“There are a lot of additional tools that we have at our disposal. Some of those the President will use and some of them he won’t,” Vance said.
He added that “everything that could happen is on the table,” including economic, military, diplomatic and covert pressure.
Vance also defended US military operations aimed at protecting commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, saying Washington’s response was intended in part to prevent a broader global energy crisis.
“We would have had an energy crisis because the Iranians refuse to stop acting like terrorists in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
The vice president declined to provide details about potential future actions, stressing that maintaining strategic uncertainty was important.
“Part of the reason they’re tools in the toolkit is because the Vice President, hopefully, is not dumb enough to stand up before all of you and a million Americans watching at home and say exactly what it is that we plan on doing,” Vance said.
His remarks came as the seven-month-old conflict continues with no clear path toward a lasting settlement, even as Trump has indicated that he does not expect the war to continue for much longer.
A Wall Street Journal report said Trump is privately considering whether to declare an end to the conflict, with the administration facing pressure over elevated energy prices ahead of the US midterm elections.
At the same time, the Pentagon has extended troop deployments in West Asia, suggesting that the US military remains prepared for a prolonged confrontation.
The latest comments also came amid renewed attacks between the two sides. US Central Command said American forces had struck multiple targets inside Iran, while Tehran launched attacks against US-linked facilities across the Gulf.
Trump on Wednesday said US forces had carried out a “very heavy attack” against Iran, including strikes on newly established military equipment near the Strait of Hormuz.
“We hit them hard last night, very hard. They gave a little love tap, but we hit them very hard last night,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office.
Trump had earlier said he did not expect the conflict, which began Feb. 28, to continue for “very much longer.”
Meanwhile, the administration has also stepped up economic pressure on Tehran.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently announced “Operation Economic Outcast,” a campaign designed to target what Washington considers key Iranian economic lifelines, including oil, shipping, aviation and digital assets.
The initiative seeks to further isolate Iran from international financial networks and restrict revenue streams that Washington says support the Iranian government.
With military, diplomatic and economic options all under consideration, Vance’s comments underscored the Trump administration’s intention to retain maximum flexibility as it weighs its next steps toward Tehran.
