Agencies
US Vice President JD Vance suggested in an interview aired Friday that he may have disagreed with President Donald Trump over the Iran war.
“Even if you disagree with him on that one issue, you can have that disagreement. And I think I have had that disagreement,” Vance said on a political talk show hosted by former White House spokesman Sean Spicer.
Vance was responding to a question about his relationship with political commentator and former Trump ally Tucker Carlson, who has sharply criticised the Iran war, arguing that it serves Israeli rather than American interests and contradicts Trump’s pledge to avoid costly foreign military interventions.
Vance said that Carlson, who has espoused conservative views, was “very, very angry” over the war. “He and I have had that conversation in private, in public. I know how he feels, and I understand,” he said.
“What I’ve said to Tucker is don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater … Aren’t closed borders and ending the ridiculous anti-white racial discrimination in our university admissions, aren’t these things worth actually acknowledging that Donald Trump has done a lot of good?”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Admiral Brad Cooper claimed Friday that Iran has been cut off from maritime imports and exports as Washington intensified its campaign against Tehran’s oil revenue and military funding. In a video message, Cooper said US efforts focused on three areas: restricting Iranian oil exports, disrupting digital financing and weakening the ability of Iran’s security forces to pay their personnel.
“As a point of emphasis, with the exception of the humanitarian assistance we’ve allowed in, Iran has no exports and no imports by sea,” Cooper said.
He said US forces have prevented Iran from exporting at least $25 billion worth of crude oil in recent months.
“CENTCOM has also supported US interagency partners in freezing nearly $350 million in digital cryptocurrency assets, further constricting Iran’s ability to fund terrorism or replace weapons and factories that we destroy,” he said.
Cooper claimed that Iran-aligned groups operating across the region had begun withholding payments to their fighters to redirect funds to the IRGC, which he said was also struggling to pay its personnel. According to Cooper, the IRGC was also struggling to pay its personnel.
“The Islamic regime is clearly feeling the economic pain, and the IRGC is increasingly showing signs of greater desperation as a result,” he said.