Vice President JD Vance warned Wednesday against a U.S. withdrawal from the Middle East, saying it would trigger a “worldwide energy crisis” as long as Iran continues targeting commercial shipping.

“What I would say to anybody who’s frustrated right now is the alternative here, which is the United States effectively says to the Middle East, ‘You’re on your own,’ would mean necessarily a worldwide energy crisis, so long as the Iranians keep on shooting at shipping, which we know that’s exactly what they would do,” Vance said, according to Fox News.  

He was speaking at the All-In Summit in Los Angeles. 

“The president came in, and yes, he wanted to keep the United States out of foreign entanglements,” Vance said. “He also said that he was committed to Iran not having a nuclear weapon, and I think that wanting to keep the United States out of foreign entanglements does not mean that you can never use the military in order to accomplish the American people’s objectives.”

“I think the president has actually done the responsible thing here, which is to try to ensure that world energy markets, despite Iranian terrorism, continue to get that flow of oil and gas,” Vance added.