ISTANBUL (Bernama-Anadolu): The US expects Iran to restore the flow of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-conflict levels and ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels, US Vice President JD Vance said Saturday, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
"Our expectation is you're going to see the same amount of oil and gas come out of the Gulf that you saw before the conflict started,” Vance told Fox News, saying Iran had communicated that intention to Washington.
"But you know, we don't trust. We verify,” Vance said. "We actually look not at people's words but people's deeds.”
He said Washington was also monitoring Iranian statements about potentially imposing tolls on vessels using the strategic waterway.
"The Iranians have told us they have no plans to toll the Strait of Hormuz,” Vance said, adding that the US would judge Tehran by its actions.
Vance said Iran and Gulf countries, particularly Oman, had been discussing ways to maintain safe maritime traffic.
He said Iran had laid "a large number of mines” at the start of the conflict, making demining and the establishment of a safe traffic scheme key issues.
"What we're really working through now is how you can actually set up a traffic scheme so that the ships that pass can pass through safely. That includes, of course, demining,” Vance said.
The US also expects Iran to commit to not firing on commercial vessels, Vance said.
"That also includes a commitment from the Iranians that they're not going to fire at commercial vessels,” he said.
"They're hurting in a big way. They want this thing to be over,” he said, adding that the key question was whether Iran’s system could provide what Washington considers necessary for an agreement.
Vance said the US is "trying to make sure that we get what we need out of this particular conflict.”
"We've destroyed their nuclear programme, we've destroyed their conventional military, we've radically reduced their asymmetric military abilities, and right now, we're trying to see if they're willing to make the kind of long-term changes that would be necessary to have a better relationship with the United States - and if not, that's fine too,” he said.
"We're just going to keep on applying the pressure that we can apply and getting as much oil and gas out of the Middle East so that Americans can enjoy lower gas and energy prices,” the US vice president added.
-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU
