RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesPence, a stalwart Iran hawk, implies that further military action will be required to ‘finish the job’ as war stretches to six month anniversary
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Former Vice President Mike Pence firmly backed his former boss on the ongoing Iran war in an interview Sunday and warned that Donald Trump would soon have to “go in and finish the job” and deliver a final military defeat to the Iranian military.
Pence made the remarks from Kyiv, Ukraine, as Trump faces increasing unpopularity at home tied strongly to the war, which he and his Cabinet officials predicted would be over in a matter of “weeks” but is now approaching its six-month mark. The former vice president argued that the Iranian military and its leadership were not recognizing the reality on the ground, and implied that the deployment of further forces inside Iran would be an “inevitable” next step.
"I think the time is going to come sooner rather than later when the president and our ally Israel are going to have to go in and finish the job,” said the former vice president.
Pence added that the negotiations aimed at establishing and then extending the 60-day ceasefire were “for naught”, adding that Iran would not agree to the president’s terms until its leaders publicly acknowledged their total defeat.
"You don't make peace with your enemy, you make peace with your defeated enemy,” said the former vice president.
His comments come as the USS Abraham Lincoln is leaving the region, after being replaced by the USS George Washington. The extended nine-month deployment of the aircraft carrier Lincoln drew criticism on Capitol Hill after media reports emerged of food shortages, cleanliness issues and serious mental health issues developing among members of the crew. Trump officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have claimed that those reports are false.
Pence cheered the news, but added that the deployment of U.S. military assets to the region would be necessary for the forseeable future.
“It’s gonna be absolutely imperative that we keep the pressure on and that we keep our military assets in the region,” said Pence.
U.S. military forces in the region are largely engaged now with securing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz for shipping traffic, including the significant share of global energy traffic that passes through the strait every month. A report from Axios this past week revealed that U.S. forces have established a secure shipping lane off of the coast of Oman allowing the passage of 15-20 vessels through the strait every night — lower than pre-war traffic levels, but better than the standstill that persisted for weeks.
Previously, U.S. officials centered their war goals around Iran’s nuclear program and securing an agreement with Iran to dismantle its remaining nuclear sites and dispose of its remaining enriched material. Those efforts have largely fallen by the wayside as focus has narrowed around the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s ability to shut down or significantly restrict the passage of tankers and others vessels through the passage.
Trump and his allies have crowed for months that Iran’s military is “obliterated” and poses no remaining threat to U.S. forces. However, the supply issues weighing on the Lincoln were reportedly further stressed by Iranian strikes on U.S. bases around the region that have disrupted supply lines, and hundreds of U.S. service members have been injured over the course of the war in Iranian strikes and other incidents.
A 60-day ceasefire extension signed in June officially expired last week after the two sides returned to fighting almost immediately upon its signing, driven by disputes over control and sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. Prospects of a new agreement being signed seem low, and there are no indications that talks are ongoing at an official level.
Trump faces pressure from some members of his own party to end the war quickly, but sustained U.S. military might has thus far been unable to oust the Iranian government or fully eradicate its capabilities, including the ability of Iranian forces to attack vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Polls show that less than a third of midterm voters believe that Trump is handling the war well.
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