US Vice President Jay D. Vance raised the ceiling of confrontation with Iran and its European allies at the same time, holding Tehran responsible for the rise in fuel prices due to the targeting of commercial ships, and accusing European countries of being unable to actually contribute to protecting the global energy flow, at a time when he confirmed that about 15 million barrels of oil had crossed the Strait of Hormuz during the last 24 hours despite the continued Iranian threats.
According to a report by journalist Idan Kofler on the Israeli “Walla” website, Vance accused Iran of causing a rise in fuel prices due to the shooting at commercial ships, and he directed sharp criticism at European countries for not doing, in his words, enough to ensure the continued supply of energy to global markets.
“The basic fact is that the reason fuel prices are so high now is because the Iranians are shooting down commercial shipping,” Vance said.
He added that Iran returned to firing at ships shortly after signing an agreement under which it pledged to stop these operations.
But the bulk of the US Vice President’s criticism targeted Washington’s allies in Europe.
“I think this demonstrates the ridiculous state of decline that we have seen in our allies in Europe, their inability to actually do anything to help maintain regular supplies to global energy markets,” he said.
According to Vance, Iranian targeting has led to some ships refraining from passing through the region, but shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is still continuing.
He said: “Just yesterday we took out about 15 million barrels through the Strait of Hormuz, even though the Iranians continue to fire.”
He continued, asking: “And what did any other party in the world do? Why should the United States specifically be the only country in the world capable of ensuring that global energy markets continue to receive supplies?”
According to the report, Vance presented two options that he said Washington was facing: either withdraw and allow oil and gas supplies to be damaged, or continue moving to prevent Iranian attacks from causing a global energy crisis.
He pointed out that Arab countries in the Gulf also warned the US administration that withdrawal would be “the worst thing in the world.”
Regarding fuel prices within the United States, Vance declined to specify a date for their return to the $3 level, but stressed that they would have been much higher had it not been for the current American move.
He said: “We have to remember why we are doing this. First, so that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Second, what we are doing now is to protect commercial shipping to ensure that we do not face a global energy crisis.”
Thus, Vance does not place the responsibility for the disruption of energy markets on Iran alone, but also turns the issue into a confrontation within the Western camp, demanding that Europe bear a greater share of the cost of protecting trade and energy routes instead of keeping the burden, according to his account, on the United States alone.
