Topline

Vice President JD Vance denied Saturday that Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz just days after it was reopened, saying the U.S. is “not seeing any evidence” of a shutdown even as Iran’s joint military command has confirmed the closure and attributed it to Israel’s continued strikes against Lebanon.

Iran’s joint military command declared the strait closed in a statement reported by Iranian state media.

Vance said he was “skeptical” of reporting from The Wall Street Journal that cited Iranian security officials who closed the strait over the U.S. failure to end fighting in Lebanon, a requirement under the memorandum of understanding signed by President Donald Trump and Iran this week.

“We're not seeing any evidence that the Iranians are still closing down the Strait of Hormuz,” Vance said.

The vice president said his understanding from talking to special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner was “that things are going well” and “the straits are now open.”