JD Vance threatens Iran and says ‘two can play that sport’ as he condemns the regime’s ‘financial terrorism’ in Strait of Hormuz: Live updates

US Vice President JD Vance accused Iran of engaging in ‘economic terrorism’ by blocking traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and said ‘two can play at that game’.

It comes after Vance had left talks hosted by Pakistan on Sunday, saying he had handed Tehran the ‘final and best offer’.

Iran has blamed Washington for making maximalist demands, but its leaders have in the last hours not dismissed efforts by world leaders to get both sides back to the negotiating table.

Crucially, a fragile two-week truce agreed last Wednesday to give time to find a lasting ceasefire remained in place, even though a US naval blockade of Iranian ports began at the Strait of Hormuz, which had been effectively closed by Tehran.

The standoff at the strait, through which one-fifth of global oil transits, failed to dampen optimism at global markets, with Asian equities rallying while oil continued a downward slide.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that ‘full efforts are underway” to reach an agreement to stop the fighting and that US-Iran ceasefire was ‘holding’.

Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Vance said:

‘If the Iranians are going try to engage in economic terrorism, we’re going to abide by a simple principle that no Iranian ships are getting out either.’

‘I really think the ball is in the Iranian court, because we put a lot on the table. We actually made very clear what our red lines were,’

‘It’s one thing for the Iranians to say that they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. It’s another thing for us to put in place the mechanism to ensure that’s not going to happen.’

China’s President Xi Jinping vowed Tuesday that his country would play a ‘constructive role’ in promoting peace talks in the Middle East, Chinese state media reported, after a first round of discussions between the United States and Iran ended without agreement.

‘Xi Jinping stressed China’s principled stance of promoting peace and urging talks, and reiterated it will continue to play a constructive role on this,’ state news agency Xinhua said.