Investing.com – A temporary ceasefire deal between the U.S., Iran, and Israel represents a “fragile truce,” U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday, as strikes continued to be reported across the Persian Gulf.
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Speaking at an event in Hungary, Vance suggested that the accord was being misrepresented within Iran, although he did not go into more detail about the claim. However, Vance said if Iran negotiates in “good faith,” a more permanent halt to hostilities may be found.
“That’s a big if. And ultimately, it’s up to the Iranians how they negotiate. I hope they make the right decision,” Vance said.
Vance’s comments came after the U.S. and Iran reached a deal to temporarily halt hostilities for two weeks. U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier threatened to eradicate Iranian “civilization” if the country did not open the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday.
Trump said on social media that the truce followed conversations with leaders from Pakistan, which has served as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran. He added that the U.S. received a 10-point proposal from Iran which provides a workable basis for negotiations, and reiterated his claims that Washington had “already met and exceeded all Military objectives” and the “two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated.”
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Tehran would “cease their defensive operation” and would make “safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz possible if shipping is done in coordination with the Iranian military. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif invited U.S. and Iranian officials to Islamabad for talks on Friday. Vance did not specify if he would be attending the negotiations, but said Trump is “impatient to make progress” in the discussions.
Israel, who launched a joint assault on Iran with the U.S. in late February, backed Trump’s decision, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. However, the comment did not include Lebanon, where Iran-aligned Hezbollah militants have been targeted by Israel.
The agreement offers some space for both sides to hash out a long-term peace deal, halting a war which, beyond the military and humanitarian costs, many observers feared was on track to drive up inflationary pressures and weigh on the global economy.
Still, media reports have said new military and drone strikes hit areas in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday morning. The United Arab Emirates has reportedly said that its air defenses were firing at incoming Iranian missile strikes, just hours after Tehran, the U.S. and Israel had agreed to a temporary ceasefire. The Associated Press reported that the UAE did not provide specific details about where the attack was happening.
Kuwait has also intercepted Iranian drones targeting energy infrastructure in the country, the AP said.
Meanwhile, Iranian state television also said an oil refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island had been attacked, although it did not say who had launched the strike.
Trump pledges to help facilitate Hormuz crossings
In a social media post, Trump pledged that the U.S. will be “helping with the traffic buildup” in the Strait of Hormuz, adding “[t]here will be lots of positive action” and “[b]ig money will be made.”
“We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just “hangin’ around” in order to make sure that everything goes well. I feel confident that it will,” Trump wrote.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, sank sharply, falling below the $100 a barrel threshold. But the contract, which has rocketed higher as traders fretted over a weeks-long effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, remains well above pre-war levels.
Worries have abounded that a prolonged shuttering of the strait, a narrow waterway off of Iran’s southern coast through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes, could impact crucial energy supplies to countries around the world.
Analysts suggested that investors will be closely monitoring supply flows through the strait, with reports suggesting that some ships are still uncertain whether the waterway is safe to navigate. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Iranian navy has told ships anchored near the strait that they will still need permission from Iran to cross.
“Further price direction will hinge on whether talks translate into a durable agreement and a sustained normalisation of flows through the strait, with volatility likely to persist during negotiations later this week,” analysts at ING including Ewa Manthey and Warren Patterson said in a note.
Equity markets in several Asian countries, many of which are heavy importers of oil and gas from the Strait of Hormuz, shot up on Wednesday. Shares in Europe — which uses natural gas from the Persian Gulf, where energy infrastructure has been targeted by Iranian strikes — also gained, as did U.S. stock futures.
(Ambar Warrick and Vlad Schepkov contributed reporting.)