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Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said the U.S. Navy has, as part of the agreement to end the war, lifted its blockade on Iranian ports by allowing more than a dozen ships to pass through. Vance gave the update at a White House news briefing, where he also said the greatest amount of oil since the war began is now flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Vice President JD Vance will hold a White House press briefing at 11 a.m. EDT. Watch live in our video player above.
President Donald Trump has signed an agreement with Iran that calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and waives U.S.-backed sanctions on the country, immediately allowing Iran to sell its oil freely in a major concession from Washington, according to details released by both countries.
WATCH: U.S. officials reveal key terms of agreement to end Iran war
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lashed out at NATO allies Thursday, announcing a six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe whose outcome will depend on how fast the Europeans take responsibility for their own security.
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Vance made the announcement Thursday at a White House news briefing, where he said more oil is now flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. The Republican vice president says more than 12.5 million barrels went through the shipping channel Wednesday night.
Vance said that’s the highest since the conflict began in late February. He also said the U.S. is honoring its end of the early part of the agreement on the military side.
“So we’re also honoring our end of the early part of the agreement on the military side,” Vance said.
Vance cited it as an immediate benefit of the deal as he downplayed criticism that the agreement tilts in favor of Iran.
Given the timing of when the deal was signed by both sides — and the time zones involved — Vance said Thursday is Day 1 for the 60-day negotiating period governing it.
READ MORE: What’s in the agreement to end the U.S. war in Iran, according to a U.S. official
The agreement calls for a permanent end to hostilities and starts a 60-day clock to reach a final deal on the future of Iran’s nuclear program, though Trump left the door open to resume attacks.
The deal also calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and waives U.S.-backed sanctions on the country, immediately allowing Iran to sell its oil freely in a major concession from Washington, according to details released by both countries.
The vice president tried to clarify Trump’s statements Wednesday that it was acceptable for Iran to have ballistic missiles, a stunning statement since those missiles were initially a rationale for the conflict’s start in February.
Vance said at the White House briefing that the U.S. has “destroyed a substantial number of their ballistic missiles” as well as Iran’s “ballistic missile launchers.”
“They are not going to be able to build the kind of missiles that can broadly threaten the entire world, and that’s what the president of United States said yesterday,” Vance said. “And look, I mean, it’s very simple. You can’t tell a country, whether Israel or Iran, they’re not allowed to have any self-defense.”
The U.S. vice president said the agreement with Iran requires that it restrain Hezbollah and keep it from attacking Israel, with such attacks warranting a response from Israel.
He said there’s been “radical progress” in Lebanon with “less shooting,” but said with a ceasefire, “you’re still going to have these little flare ups from time to time.”
His remarks came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that that Israeli forces will stay in southern Lebanon “for as long as Israel’s security needs require it.”
While administration members have been “informally” keeping members of Congress up to date on the deal, Vance said a formal briefing would happen very soon — but didn’t say when.
“We’re going to ensure that the team briefs Congress and of course answers their questions,” he said, adding that the Capitol Hill schedule has played a part in timing.
The Senate is in session, but U.S. House members aren’t in Washington this week.
Vance also said the administration feels “quite confident” congressional approval wasn’t needed to lift sanctions on Iran.
He defended the existence of a “gentlemen’s agreements” with Iran about how it handles it uranium stockpiles and nuclear ambitions.
“So some of them are written down, but fundamentally, whether they’re written down or spoken, this is why we structured the deal that we did, because we don’t trust words,” Vance said at the White House briefing. “We trust action and we trust conduct.”
The vice president added: “Words don’t matter.”
Vance said the goal is to verify that Iran is meeting its promise to not enrich uranium and that it would allow inspectors “to destroy that highly enriched stockpile” of uranium.
The vice president made the comment when he was asked about the contradictory messages from the administration this week about when they would release the text of the agreement and sign it.
The U.S. kept it secret for days until releasing it Wednesday and Trump deciding to formally sign it Wednesday instead of leaving it to a previously announced signing ceremony Vance was supposed to attend Friday in Switzerland.
READ MORE: Trump’s economic approval rating hits new low, poll finds
Vance said the Iranians initially asked the U.S. to keep the text secret. He said he didn’t know why they made the request, but the U.S. agreed — until the Trump administration decided to release it because the American people wanted to see it.
The vice president said he plans to lead negotiations with Iran, but a planned ceremony Friday appears to be up in the air.
“Our plan is to go to Switzerland, I don’t know exactly when,” Vance said. He added that the timing partly depends on when Iranian representatives can get there.
Vance initially had been expected to sign the agreement at a formal ceremony Friday, but Trump signed it Wednesday instead.
Vance said he negotiations kicked off by the agreement are expected to begin this weekend.
Vance said he was “glad that the Pope has positive things to say about our MOU,” reiterating that “we’ve got to keep working at it to make sure that the Iranians honor the commitments that they’ve made.”
The pope this week called the agreement “an encouraging result of patient work of dialogue and negotiation.”
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, visited the first American pope at the Vatican last year. The vice president discusses his conversion in his new book, released this week.
The vice president on Thursday issued a warning against Israeli officials who criticize President Trump over the deal he reached with Iran.
During a a news briefing at the White House, Vance lashed out at members of the Israeli government in a surprising rebuke to an ally government, warning them “Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time.”
He said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “to his credit, has not gone down this path” but blamed members of his Cabinet.
“The problem for Israel is not Donald J. Trump and anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in,” Vance said.
Vance said that any of the investments in Iran totaling as much as $300 billion could involve “private money” from other countries in the region and “assumes a transformation in Iranian behavior.”
Vance said at the White House briefing that if the United Arab Emirates wanted to invest in a “building a power plant” in Iran that U.S. sanctions currently forbid the transaction.
“And so what we’re saying is that if you behave and if the Emiratis themselves want to build a power plant, then we will do the sanctions relief necessary to make that possible,” Vance said. “The good thing about that is that it actually creates integration, which is leverage.”
Asked about criticism Trump is facing from some Republicans, Vance urged them to “have a little bit of faith in the president of the United States.”
“The idea that he is going to strike a deal that’s bad for the American people, it’s preposterous” Vance said.
Vance added that the administration has to continue to explain the deal to American people.
“I think that when people get to understand not just the agreement, our negotiating posture as a country, they will realize this is an excellent thing for the American people,” Vance said. “That’s part of our job. We’ve got to tell the story about what this means for Americans.”
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