U.S. vice president dismisses Iran’s ‘cease-fire violation’ claim: “Do they even understand English?”

[Financial News] Vice President of the United States James David Vance warned Iran that "if they break their promises under the agreement, they will face serious consequences."
James David Vance, who is set to lead the U.S. delegation in negotiations with Iran, said on the 8th (local time), "Basically, we are in a good position. They are reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and we are in a cease-fire," as he laid out the current situation.
The vice president added, "President Donald John Trump is making it very clear that this agreement is both a cease-fire and a negotiation." He continued, "That is what we are offering, and what they have offered is that the strait will be reopened. If that does not happen—in other words, if Iran does not comply with the terms—then the president will not comply with the conditions we agreed to carry out either."
He also stressed, "Essentially, Iran has to take the next step. If it does not, the president has many options to return to war."
Observers see Vance’s remarks as a pointed warning for Iran to honor the cease-fire deal, after Tehran denounced Israel’s attack on Lebanon—aimed at eliminating the pro-Iranian militant group Hezbollah—as a "violation of the cease-fire agreement" and threatened to re-close the Strait of Hormuz.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran and expected head of the Iranian negotiating team, cited three alleged U.S. violations of the agreement that day—Israel’s attack on Lebanon, a drone incursion into part of Iranian airspace, and denial of Iran’s right to enrich uranium—and argued that "a cease-fire and negotiations are unreasonable." In response, Vice President Vance mocked him, saying, "It makes so little sense that I have to wonder how well he understands English."
Regarding Israel’s attack on Lebanon, he said, "Iran seems to have thought the cease-fire included Lebanon, but it did not. Neither we nor Israel ever said that Lebanon would be part of the cease-fire agreement."
On the alleged incursion into Iranian airspace, he commented, "Cease-fires are always messy. There is no cease-fire without a bit of commotion." As for the right to enrich uranium, he drew a clear line, saying, "We do not particularly care what they claim they have a right to. We care about what they are actually doing."
whywani@fnnews.com Hong Chae-wan Reporter