Vance opens channel with Tehran as Trump weighs new round of attacks on Iran

President Donald Trump is considering new attacks against Iran shortly after the midterm elections, according to reports cited by Fox Business. Vice President JD Vance, according to the same information, is already in contact with the main hardliners of the Iranian regime, which keeps diplomacy open at the same time that the military option remains on the table.

Analyst Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior researcher at the Hudson Institute and contributor to Fox News, commented on the case in an interview with presenter Brian. In her assessment, Trump tries to ensure that he has all options available. She said that American military forces are being deployed to the region and that the president is evaluating what a new military campaign would look like.

Heinrichs stated that he does not see, for now, the prospect of success in diplomatic advances. According to the analyst, contact with hard-line figures should not be confused with peace negotiations.

Humanitarian aid and control over the country

The presenter questioned whether the approach was limited to helping Iranians with food and medical supplies. In an audio excerpt shown on the program, which is of poor quality, a voice attributed to the president says that the interlocutor asked for help with medical supplies and other items, to which he replied that he saw no problem, and that the idea would be to bring supplies to people who are unwell.

Heinrichs said that, if the objective was just to bring food and medicine to the population, this would not be the interlocutor sought. She stated that the United States is already providing some humanitarian aid to the Iranians, which she classified as remarkable.

The analyst also described the degree of control that, according to her, Washington exercises over the country: no Iranian exports or imports would be admitted, the regime's so-called ghost fleet would have been removed from operation and the Americans would have total control over what enters the territory.

What a second campaign would require

Asked what should be different if the United States resumes large-scale confrontation, Heinrichs stated that the first campaign was very successful in destroying the specific targets planned. Still, according to her, the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) remains in power and continues to fire at the strait.

To obtain a different result, said the analyst, it would be necessary to adopt another strategy and another set of targets, more comprehensively. She defended targeting the regime's leadership and the ability to replenish its forces, which, in her words, means targeting strategic bridges.

Heinrichs also assessed that the Israel Defense Forces are especially adept at identifying priority targets and that a possible second campaign should once again feature the Americans alongside the Israelis. The presenter mentioned, during the conversation, that Israel has just received a new Patriot battery.

What to watch out for

The transcript does not contain data on stock markets, interest rates, the dollar or oil, and the market reaction was not a topic of conversation. For investors, the episode reinforces that the geopolitical risk in the Middle East remains open: on the one hand, a reported diplomatic channel; on the other, an ongoing military assessment, with troops moving into the region. The analyzes cited above are from the interviewee and Fox Business, and there is no independent confirmation in this report.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.