JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND – NOVEMBER 2: Vice President JD Vance steps off Air Force Two November 2, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. The vice president returned to Washington after midterm campaign stops in New York and Ohio.
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The United States reportedly carried out strikes against Iran on Monday even as Vice President JD Vance expressed hope of reaching a “negotiated settlement” with Tehran.
America attacked the Iranian island of Qeshm on Monday, US officials told the Wall Street Journal, which added that Washington had carried out “limited strikes” against the country in recent weeks. The military campaign against Iran has been deliberately kept quiet so as not to signal an intention for a major escalation of fighting, the report said, citing an unnamed official.
Qeshm Island, off the southern coast of Iran, is the largest island in the Persian Gulf. Located near the Strait of Hormuz, it has become a potential target for the United States, amid reports that anti-ship missiles, mines, drones and attack craft are kept there in underground tunnels.
President Donald Trump’s administration has downplayed the risks of all-out war with Iran, with Vance the latest to claim “good progress” in negotiations with Iran.
“The president and I are both very pleased with the prospect of reaching a negotiated settlement,” Vance told CNN on Monday.
However, he added that the Iranians are “unpredictable” and that Trump retains “kinetic and non-kinetic” options against Tehran. Vance said Washington has set no deadline for reaching a peace deal with Iran.
Trump said earlier Monday that the United States must go to war with Iran to prevent the country from having “a nuclear weapon,” and that “we are not going to allow Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon.” And they understand it.”
On November 1, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said that Trump wanted to resolve the Iranian war “diplomatically” and preferred not to use military force.
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