Washington, July 9: Vice President J.D. Vance has accused Iran of violating a recent understanding with the United States by resuming attacks on commercial shipping, warning that any further attempts to disrupt maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would trigger a stronger US military response.

Speaking in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday (local time), Vance said the Trump administration had reached an agreement with Tehran after recent hostilities, but alleged that Iran had failed to uphold its side of the arrangement.

“We made a deal with the Iranians,” Vance said, adding that the agreement came after the United States had negotiated “from maximum leverage and maximum strength.”

He credited President Donald Trump and the US military with weakening Iran’s capabilities before diplomacy resumed.

“Thanks to the incredible efforts of our amazing US military, …the President of the United States, just amazing people. But most of all, thanks to the troops, we came into the situation with maximum leverage and maximum strength. Their nuclear programme was destroyed, their conventional military was destroyed, and you’ve got some people within the Iranian system who are saying, ‘You know what? We want to change our relationship with the United States. We want to turn over a new leaf,'” Vance said.

According to Vance, the understanding between Washington and Tehran centred on freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil shipping lanes.

“The basic deal that we cut was we’ll lift our blockade if you stop shooting at ships. But if you shoot at ships, we are going to punch back, and we’re going to punch back harder than ever before,” he said.

Vance claimed Iran initially complied with the arrangement.

“They said they would stop shooting at ships, and what happened 24 hours ago? They started shooting at ships again. They were good, they were well behaved for about a week, but then they started shooting at ships,” he said.

He warned that Washington would continue to respond militarily if attacks persisted.

“So the deal is very simple. If they shoot at ships, we’re going to knock the hell out of them, and it’s that simple. That’s the basic way it’s going to work,” Vance said, adding that President Trump “maintains a lot of options” but declining to discuss possible military action.

Vance said ensuring the Strait of Hormuz remains open was a strategic priority because of its importance to global energy supplies.

“The President has said to them very simply, the Strait of Hormuz is going to be open. That means oil and gas is going to flow to the American people. That’s why we see gas prices starting to come down. That’s why we see the oil prices so low, is because the President said that crucial artery through which we ship a lot of the world’s energy, that artery has got to remain open,” he said.

“If they try to close it down, there’s going to be a response from the American military. It’s that simple. They can either follow it, or they can have exactly what happened to them last night. It’s just going to keep on happening until they open up that lane and stop shooting at ships,” Vance added.

Tehran, July 8: Iran on Wednesday strongly condemned the United States’ decision to revoke the temporary suspension of sanctions on Iranian oil sales, describing the move as a “clear violation” of Article 10 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on June 18 and holding Washington responsible for the consequences of the decision.

In an official statement, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the US Treasury’s move to lift the temporary suspension of the embargo on Iranian oil sales, which is a gross violation of Article 10 of the Memorandum of Understanding to End the War and holds the US government responsible for the consequences of this breach of promise.”

The Ministry said the US decision, announced less than 20 days after the signing of the agreement, reflected what it described as Washington’s “malicious intentions, instability, and unreliability.”

It further alleged that the United States had repeatedly violated various provisions of the memorandum, either directly or “through the actions of the Zionist regime against Lebanon.”

According to the Ministry, Iran had made sincere efforts to implement its commitments under the agreement ever since the Memorandum of Understanding was signed and had acted in good faith while fulfilling its obligations.

“Since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding… the Islamic Republic of Iran has tried in good faith and using all its capabilities to fulfil its obligations… However, the US government, as usual, has simultaneously violated its obligations and sought to justify them with various excuses,” the Ministry said.

Issuing a warning over the latest development, the Ministry stated that Tehran reserved the right to take appropriate measures to safeguard its national interests and security.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, while warning of the consequences of America’s breach of the agreement, will take any action it deems necessary to protect its interests and national security,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, US forces launched strikes against Iran after three commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz were attacked, the US Central Command said.

US forces “have begun launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway,” the command said in a post on X.

“The US strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” said the command.

Explosions were heard near Iran’s Qeshm Island and the port cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting Iranian state outlet Press TV.

Artificial intelligence’s biggest obstacle is no longer advanced computer chips but access to electricity, BlackRock Chairman and Chief Executive Larry Fink has said, warning that the United States must modernise its ageing power grid or risk slowing the next wave of technological innovation.

Speaking in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, Fink said the rapid expansion of AI is creating unprecedented demand for computing power, exposing weaknesses in America’s electricity infrastructure.

“We don’t have enough power in the United States,” Fink said, describing electricity as the most significant constraint on AI development.

He said the United States has adequate energy resources, particularly natural gas, but lacks the transmission infrastructure needed to distribute electricity efficiently.

“We have plenty of power through natural gas, but we can’t distribute it in a proper way,” he said, adding that the country would need to invest “hundreds of billions of dollars” in expanding and upgrading its electricity grid.

“And if we don’t do that, we are not going to succeed in A.I.,” he said. “A.I. is just a bunch of electrons. So you need the power to create the electrons.”

Fink argued that demand for AI computing capacity currently exceeds supply, driving shortages not only in advanced chips but also in electricity and other critical infrastructure.

“At this moment, there’s more demand than supply,” he said. “We have shortages of compute right now which to me is the biggest problem we have in this country today.”

He warned that unless computing costs fall significantly, smaller organisations could struggle to benefit from the AI revolution.

“I’m not worried about BlackRock or J.P. Morgan having the money to invest in these models,” Fink said. “But I am very worried about municipalities or hospitals. Are they going to invest in this?”

Calling for wider access to AI technologies, he said the United States must “democratise A.I.” so that hospitals, local governments, transport systems and small businesses can also deploy advanced AI tools.

“If we can’t do that, then we’re going to have some real structural issues,” he said.

Fink also dismissed concerns that equity markets are in a speculative bubble despite massive investment in artificial intelligence. Instead, he said unusually strong demand had created shortages that allowed some companies to command significantly higher prices for their products.

Discussing the broader economy, Fink said recent geopolitical shocks, including the conflict involving Iran, demonstrated the resilience of the global economic system.

“The global economy actually mitigated much of the stresses,” he said, pointing to increased energy production, diversification of supply and technological adaptation. “We solve problems.”

On the US fiscal outlook, Fink argued that sustained economic growth offered the best path to managing rising government debt.

“If we cannot grow the economy by three per cent a year, we’re in trouble,” he said, urging policymakers to encourage private investment and streamline infrastructure approvals rather than relying on higher taxes.