The Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, pointed out this Tuesday that the war in Iran "will enter a very different phase in a couple of months," thus introducing a temporal nuance to the words of President Donald Trump, who had stated that the conflict would conclude "right after" the midterm elections in the United States, known as 'midterms', scheduled for November 3.
"We cannot predict the future, but I believe the president is right in saying that this will enter a very different phase in a couple of months," Vance indicated in an interview granted to the digital newspaper New York Post, referring to the timeline put forward by Trump, who placed the end of the war "right after" the 'midterms' or even earlier.
In any case, the 'number two' of the U.S. government emphasized that Trump, in addition to being the head of state, "is also the commander in chief, so he is the one who determines when conflicts begin and when they end."
"In reality, this consists of two phases, and the first has already concluded," Vance stated, detailing that "the first phase consisted of destroying the nuclear program (of Iran), dismantling its conventional military capability, and ending its ability to project power as it did just a couple of years ago." "The second phase," he added, "consists of ensuring that they cannot rebuild and trying to maintain as much global stability as possible after all of this."
Although the vice president did not specify at what point the conflict currently stands nor what the phase would be that would begin in November according to his calculations, he did insist that "the United States is not conducting aggressive operations" at this time. "We simply are not doing it," he emphasized, after saying that he understands "perfectly that there is some impatience among Americans" due to the prolongation of hostilities.
"What is happening is that the Iranians occasionally fire at commercial ships, although generally without success," he accused, while, in parallel, Iranian authorities have reported in recent days attacks by the United States against a merchant vessel and several more boats in the Strait of Hormuz. Regarding this maritime route, Vance assured, without providing sources, that it has "recovered a level of traffic well above 50% of the usual" despite the U.S. blockade and Iran's restrictions.
Vance's statements about a new phase of the war in Iran within two months are known after Trump has reiterated that the conflict will conclude after the 'midterms' or, as he pointed out last Thursday, "maybe sooner."