The United States has largely met its military objectives in its conflict with Iran, according to U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, but the final outcome will depend on what Iranian officials choose to do next.
Vance updated reporters at a Budapest, Hungary press conference where he met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
“I hope they're smart,” Vance said of negotiation officials. “The President has set a deadline for about 12 hours from now in the United States.”
President Donald Trump threatened Iran with strikes on their power plants and other infrastructure targets if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened by midnight on April 6.
The president reaffirmed that warning during a press conference on Monday before postponing the deadline to Tuesday.
“There's going to be a lot of negotiation between now and then, and I'm hopeful that it gets to a good resolution,” Vance said.
The vice president also confirmed that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are leaders in the envoy charged with negotiating a deal.
Witkoff was appointed as the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East on Jan. 20, 2025, and in February, Trump appointed Kushner, his son-in-law, as a special peace envoy.
“What we really want is we want a world where oil and gas is flowing freely, where people can afford to heat their homes and cool their homes, where people can afford to transport themselves to work,” Vance said.
The conflict stems from Trump pre-emptively striking Iran on Feb. 28, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Israeli Defense Forces.
Dubbed Operation Epic Fury, the excursion has since sunk more than 60 Iranian ships, struck a multitude of targets across Iran and its military infrastructure, leveled drone factories, and neutralized Iran's missile launchers.
Trump has also threatened to seize Iran’s Kharg Island as a way to reduce Iran’s oil revenue; however, Vance explained that the Kharg Island news does not represent a change in strategy.
“We're not going to strike energy and infrastructure targets until the Iranians either make a proposal that we can get behind or don't make a proposal,” Vance added.
Some 90 percent of Iran's oil exports flow through Kharg Island. Pakistan is acting as mediator between the United States and Iran.
Iranian officials want a permanent end to the war rather than a ceasefire, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.
“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Cario’s Iranian diplomatic mission head Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour said on Monday.