Oil prices overtake Iran's nuclear program as top US priority in Middle East war

The top US priority now in the Iran war is no longer its nuclear program but to bring gasoline prices down for American consumers, the vice president said Thursday, with the treasury secretary adding that new economic punishment to wear down Tehran is imminent.

The comments by Vice President JD Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent illustrate the powerful leverage Tehran has gained by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.

Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon – consistently touted by President Donald Trump as his main reason for the war – now takes a back seat to getting oil flowing again freely through the strait, Vance said on Fox News.

Vance's comments underscored the stark reality that the war now centres on control of the Strait of Hormuz, the critical fuel supply conduit that was open before Trump started the war along with Israel in late February.

Iran has all but shut it down in retaliation and thus found a crucial bargaining chip against Trump as he struggles to find a way out of the war and shies away from resuming large-scale attacks.

The 80-year-old president's approval rating is plummeting, the war is unpopular among Americans, and midterm elections are approaching in November.

"I know that oil is down today and it's way down from the highs in the early days of the conflict," Vance said on Fox News. "That's goal number one – keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country."

"And then obviously goal number two is ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon," he added.

Heralding more economic punishment, Bessent threatened to subject Iran to economic isolation "like the world has never seen before." He said new measures are expected next week.

Only days ago Trump had said an agreement to reopen the strait was imminent. Now his administration seems to be digging in, with diplomacy on hold as he hopes economic suffering will cause Iran to yield.

"We are low-keying it," Trump said Sunday. "We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money," Trump told the news outlet Axios.

"Sometimes we're focused on the energy piece of it because we want Americans to be able to afford the price of oil and gas. Sometimes we're obviously focused on the military… on the nuclear program," Vance also said.