Vance says 'everything' on the table to pressure Iran as US diesel prices hit record high
Vice President JD Vance said President Donald Trump has “a lot” of additional tools at his disposal to force Iran to “stop shooting at commercial shipping” in the Middle East. The average price of diesel hit $5.85 a gallon in the U.S. on Friday, a new record.
Vance says 'everything' on the table to force Iran to stop firing at ships
Vice President JD Vance revealed Thursday that the Trump administration is doing “a lot of things” to pressure Iran to stop firing at ships in the Middle East.
“There are a lot of things that we're doing, a lot of things that we're doing, of course, to try to apply pressure on the Iranians to get them to stop shooting at commercial shipping, accepting that they're still going to try to shoot at commercial shipping. Obviously, we're protecting a lot of ships, which is why we have not had a worldwide energy crisis,” Vance said at the White House press briefing.
“I can't repeat this enough. But for the leadership of President Trump and the hard work of our troops, we would have had an energy crisis because the Iranians refused to stop acting like terrorists in the Strait of Hormuz,” he continued.
“Now, that said, there are a lot of, of course, additional tools that we have at our disposal, some of those the president will use and some of them he won't. But I'm not going to advertise exactly how we're going to engage with the Iranians in the months and years to come, because, it frankly would take away the president's decision space,” Vance added.
“But everything that could happen is on the table. Economic pressure, military pressure, diplomatic pressure, covert pressure. Of course, these are things, these are tools in the president's toolkit,” he also said. “But part of the reason they're tools in the toolkit is because the vice president, hopefully is not dumb enough to stand up before, you know, all of you and a million Americans watching at home and say exactly what it is that we plan on doing.”
‘Iranians are in an incredibly weakened position,’ Huckabee says
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Iran has been forced into a “very difficult position” by the Trump administration.
Huckabee told Israel’s KAN broadcaster that “they may pretend that they’re doing just fine, but I don’t think anybody who looks at their situation honestly believes that,” according to The Times of Israel.
“The Iranians are in an incredibly weakened position, militarily, and absolutely they’re weakened economically,” he reportedly added. “The president’s actions, both militarily and economically, have put them in a very difficult position.”
Huckabee said Thursday that Iran could face additional U.S. pressure if it continues refusing to abandon its nuclear ambitions and regional aggression.
Fox News Digital’s Brittany Miller contributed to this post.
Diesel prices hit record high of $5.85 a gallon in US
The average price of diesel hit $5.85 a gallon in the U.S. on Friday, a new record.
The last time U.S. businesses and drivers saw a similar figure was in June 2022, when diesel reached as high as nearly $5.82 a gallon on average, months after the Ukraine war began and world leaders imposed sanctions against Russia, a leading oil producer, according to The Associated Press.
Oil also has renewed its climb as fighting is escalating between the U.S. and Iran.
Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at more than $95 a barrel Friday, up from roughly $70 before the war.
The average price for a gallon of gas across the U.S. is now at $4.15, up from $4.09 a week ago, according to AAA.
The Associated Press contributed to this post.
Israel says it has taken control of strategic Ali al-Taher ridge
The Israeli military said Thursday it has established operational control of the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon following an offensive against Hezbollah positions.
The Israel Defense Forces said troops secured the area through ambushes, mortar fire, grenades and drone strikes. It said Hezbollah's Badr Unit built two tunnel complexes at the site with Iranian funding and planning and used them to direct attacks against Israel over recent decades.
An Israeli military official said forces targeted tunnel entrances during the operation but found no Iranian advisers or officers inside.
The announcement came hours after Reuters reported that Iran warned Washington a full-scale Israeli offensive on the Ali al-Taher ridge would trigger a large-scale Iranian response.
The ridge has been one of the most strategically contested areas in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict because of its elevated position overlooking southern Lebanon.
Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the war with Iran.
Live Coverage begins here