Vice President JD Vance said the conflict with Iran will enter a “much different phase” in the next several months as the Trump administration shifts its focus toward preventing Tehran from rebuilding its military capabilities.
“We can’t predict the future, but I think the president is right to say that this thing will enter a much different phase in a couple of months,” Vance told the New York Post in an interview published Tuesday. “He’s also the commander in chief, so he’s the person who determines … when conflicts start and when they stop.”
Vance’s comments came after President Donald Trump said last week he expects the conflict to end following the midterm elections in November.
“I think the war will end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” Trump said.
Vance said the administration views the conflict as having two phases, with the first focused on degrading Iran’s nuclear program and destroying its conventional military capabilities and ability to project power.
“And then the second phase of this is ensure that they’re not able to rebuild and try to maintain as much global stability in the wake of that,” Vance said.
The U.S. and Israel launched a joint military operation Feb. 28 against Iran’s political leadership and military infrastructure. The U.S. Central Command said in April that U.S. forces had struck more than 12,300 targets and damaged or destroyed more than 155 Iranian vessels.
Trump has repeatedly said Iran no longer has a navy or an air force.
The U.S. and Iran reached a memorandum of understanding that temporarily halted major hostilities and provided for reopening the Strait of Hormuz while the sides pursued a broader peace deal within 60 days.
The U.S. continued its blockade of Iranian ports on July 14 after the agreement broke down.
Fighting has since continued, although Vance said the U.S. is not conducting sustained offensive operations.
“I certainly understand there’s some impatience from the American people, but fundamentally what’s happening right now is that the United States is not engaged in aggressive operations,” he said. “We’re just not.”
CENTCOM has continued to respond to Iranian attacks. On Sept. 5, U.S. forces struck three Iranian crude oil tankers after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard fired ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships.
Three days later, CENTCOM said U.S. forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after the Revolutionary Guard targeted a U.S. warship with ballistic missiles twice over two days. The U.S. warship evaded the attacks and continued to patrol regional waters.
No American personnel were injured in either incident.
Vance said traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for global oil shipping, has returned to “well over 50% of normal traffic,” although commercial crossings remain below their pre-conflict level.