Vance on U.S.-Iran Tensions

Vice President JD Vance remarked on Sunday that the United States is not engaged in war with Iran but rather focuses on “Iran’s nuclear program.”

During an appearance on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” with Kristen Welker, Vance referred to the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities as a significant success.

“What we did is we destroyed the Iranian nuclear program. I think we set that program back substantially, and we did it without endangering the lives of the American pilots. That’s an incredible thing. And I think we all should be proud, whatever our politics, we should be proud of what these guys accomplished – a very, very high impact mission under a lot of pressure,” Vance stated.

When asked about possible U.S. responses if Iran retaliates, he indicated that the ultimate decision rests with the president.

“But what we said to the Iranians is, we do not want war with Iran. We actually want peace, but we want peace in the context of them not having a nuclear weapons program, and that’s exactly what the president accomplished last night,” Vance added.

While he didn’t confirm the total destruction of Iranian nuclear sites, Vance asserted that Iran’s ability to create a nuclear weapon has been “substantially delayed.”

“I’m not going to get into sensitive intelligence about what we’ve seen on the ground there in Iran, but we’ve seen a lot, and I feel very confident that we’ve substantially delayed their development of a nuclear weapon, and that was the goal of this attack,” he elaborated.

Later in the interview, he was asked if Iran might respond economically by disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route that could affect oil prices globally.

“Their entire economy runs through the Strait of Hormuz. If they want to destroy their own economy and cause disruptions in the world, I think that would be their decision. But why would they do that? I don’t think it makes any sense,” Vance said.

“The Iranians are clearly not very good at war. Perhaps they should follow President Trump’s lead and give peace a chance,” he suggested. “If they’re serious about it, I guarantee you the President of the United States is too.”