US Vice President J.D. Vance on 16 July defended the Trump administration's negotiations with Iran, arguing that a sustained bombing campaign would neither secure the Strait of Hormuz nor deliver lasting stability in the Middle East. Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience, Vance outlined a multi-pronged strategy combining military pressure, economic leverage, and active diplomacy to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Vance's Case for Talks

Vance was unambiguous about the limits of military force. 'The military is one tool, but diplomacy is another tool,' he said. 'So you've gotta actually be willing to talk and to try to figure out the problem.' He acknowledged having been initially less enthusiastic about the US military campaign against Iran but said his role as Vice President was to advise President Donald Trump and then implement the President's decision.

'My approach to this is not to Monday morning quarterback a decision that was made three months ago,' Vance said. 'My approach to it is to try to make it as successful as possible.'

The Hormuz Framework and Its Limits

Vance said a memorandum of understanding reached with Iran was designed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end attacks on shipping, and establish a framework for negotiations over Tehran's nuclear programme. The initial agreement, he noted, did succeed in restoring oil traffic through the critical waterway. However, Iranian hardliners subsequently feared that Tehran had surrendered its primary source of leverage and resumed attacks on vessels, complicating the diplomatic track.

'What we're doing is a delicate diplomatic dance where we're using economic leverage points,' Vance said. 'We're using carrots and sticks. We're trying to talk to the pragmatists. And then of course, when they commit acts of violence, we're responding to it.'

Nuclear Facilities and Energy Flows

Vance said Iran's nuclear facilities remained destroyed and that sufficient oil and gas was moving through the Strait of Hormuz to avert a global energy crisis. Longer-term negotiations over Tehran's nuclear question, he added, were still ongoing. This comes amid sustained international concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions and the strategic importance of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of global oil supply transits.

Sharp Rebuke of Foreign Policy Hawks

Vance directed pointed criticism at US foreign policy hawks who oppose diplomatic engagement with Tehran and advocate continued military strikes. 'I think that their proposal is to bomb and bomb and bomb,' he said. 'And the honest view, Joe, is that they do not actually have a solution.' He explicitly ruled out deploying US ground forces to topple Iran's government, warning against repeating what he described as the consequences of intervention in Libya.

'We're not gonna send 150,000 ground troops in, in order to accomplish a change in a regime,' Vance said. 'We're not in that business anymore.'

What Comes Next

The administration's dual-track approach — maintaining military readiness while pursuing negotiated outcomes — faces pressure from both domestic hawks and Iranian hardliners who have already disrupted the first phase of the Hormuz agreement. Whether the pragmatist faction in Tehran retains enough influence to sustain talks remains the central uncertainty going forward.