Vice President JD Vance clarified that the U.S. is not at war with Iran, but is at war with the country’s nuclear weapons program.
Vance spoke with moderator Kristen Welker on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday.
“We’re not at war with Iran,” Vance said, per NBC News. “We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program.”
President Donald Trump announced the U.S. military had dropped bombs on three Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday.
Vance said the U.S. has “substantially delayed” Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon.
Welker asked if the vice president was 100% confident “Iran’s nuclear sites were totally destroyed.”
“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,” Vance answered.
He said the U.S. “destroyed the Iranian nuclear program. I think we set that program back substantially.”
On ABC News’ “This Week,” Vance declined to differentiate whether the Fordo facility was damaged or destroyed.
“Severely damaged versus obliterated — I’m not exactly sure what the difference is,” Vance said. “What we know is we set their nuclear program back substantially.”
Trump said that the facilities were “completely and totally obliterated.” However, an Iranian parliament member said on Sunday that Fordo was not seriously damaged in the strike.
“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” Trump said Saturday. “Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday that “Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been obliterated.”
“But initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine said.
