Vice President JD Vance on Sunday said that President Donald Trump’s move to strike nuclear facilities in Iran doesn’t necessarily portend a greater conflict in the Middle East.
In contrast, Vance told NBC’s Kristen Welker on Sunday, the attack presents an opportunity to reset flagging negotiations on curtailing Iran’s nuclear program.
“We’re not at war with Iran,” Vance said on “Meet the Press.” “We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program.”
Trump announced the strikes — on Iranian nuclear sites Fordo (also known as Fordow), Natanz and Esfahan — in a post on Truth Social on Saturday. The extent of the damage to the country’s nuclear program isn’t yet fully clear. But GOP skeptics of American military action against Tehran have largely come to heel.
The vibe shift from Trump’s No. 2 is notable, and it underscores the political currency that the president has built up within his own party. A longtime isolationist who served with the Marines in Iraq, Vance previously opposed any proactive military intervention against Iran in its own territory. But last week, he responded to debate around Trump’s political authority and decision-making with an impassioned post on social media, arguing: “The president has earned some trust on this issue.”
“I certainly empathize with Americans who are exhausted after 25 years of foreign entanglements in the Middle East,” he told Welker on Sunday. “I understand the concern, but the difference is that back then, we had dumb presidents, and now we have a president who actually knows how to accomplish America’s national security objectives.”
Vance said that the attack came in large part because Trump sensed Iran was “tapping us along” in diplomatic talks. Even as recently as March, the White House “had some optimism,” he said.
“How do we get from there to now? And the answer is, we felt very strongly that the Iranians were stonewalling us,” he said. “They weren’t taking this seriously. They were trying to draw this process out as long as possible so that they could rebuild their nuclear weapons program without the threat of American action.”
As for what happens next?
“This is a reset,” Vance told Welker. “This is an opportunity for the Iranians to take the smart path. We certainly hope that they will.”
