Vance leads cabinet meeting on Iran as US reinforces near Hormuz

The Friday meeting came days after Trump rejected a ceasefire offer and after a tanker strike Iran blames on UAE-linked vessels.

JD Vance met with cabinet members on Friday to discuss Iran, Axios reports.

The meeting follows a build-up of US forces near the Strait of Hormuz after Trump rejected an Iranian ceasefire offer, a move that came after a tanker strike Iran blames on UAE-linked vessels. Trump has told aides privately that he expects to resume bombing Iran by the end of November, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps says it is ready to respond to any threat or attack, and has warned ships against using a US-backed transit route through the strait. The UK Maritime Trade Operations body has recorded seven vessel strikes near Hormuz since September 28, with tanker traffic running at about two vessels a day, against a pre-conflict average of 125. Bloomberg estimates no crude left Iran by tanker in September. Inflation in Iran is near 90% and the rial has fallen 25% in two months.

Iran has offered to allow nuclear inspectors into the country if sanctions are eased, though it has denied that nuclear talks took place during recent mediator meetings. A cabinet-level meeting led by Vance adds a procedural marker to a standoff that has moved through mediation attempts, rejected ceasefires and escalating strikes for weeks without a lasting shift either way. Vance has recently been both a war-critical voice urging de-escalation inside the administration and a public defender of US restraint, so the meeting could reflect pressure to manage the standoff at Hormuz, or preparation for the resumed bombing timeline reportedly discussed with aides. With strikes continuing near the strait and transit volumes still far below normal, what comes out of the meeting matters most if it changes troop posture or ceasefire terms, rather than restating positions already stated.