US Vice President JD Vance spoke to Jesse Watters of Fox News on Monday about the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, outlining the administration's objectives and the strategic thinking behind the military actions.
“What the president determined is he didn't want to just keep the country safe from an Iranian nuclear weapon for the first three, four years of his second term," Vance said. “He wanted to make sure that Iran could never have a nuclear weapon, and that would require fundamentally a change in mindset from the Iranian regime."
Vance further explained that the president’s decision to take action stemmed from the recognition that the Iranian regime was both weakened and still determined to reach the brink of nuclear weapon capability.
“So he saw that the Iranian regime was weakened, he knew that they were committed to getting on that brink of a nuclear weapon, and he decided to take action because he felt that was necessary in order to protect the nation's security."
The Vice President emphasized that President Donald Trump understood the US military’s capabilities in dealing with Iran’s nuclear ambitions. “The President of the United States knows what we're able to do. He knows that we have much greater capacity to inflict damage on the Iranian nuclear program, but also on various missiles that threaten our troops."
Vance further stressed the president’s commitment to achieving a lasting outcome. “I think the president has made it very clear that the US has a lot of optionality here. We could go for a little bit longer. We could go for a lot longer," he stated. “I think the president just wants to make it clear to the Iranians and to the world, he is not going to rest until he accomplishes his objective of ensuring Iran can't have a nuclear weapon. Not just because we obliterated some enrichment facility, but because the Iranians themselves commit long-term to not building a nuclear weapon."
In a broader context, Vance noted that while the US would prefer a diplomatic solution, the reality remains that the Iranian regime needs to demonstrate a genuine commitment to abandoning its nuclear aspirations.
“In a perfect world, we would love it if somebody came to power in Iran who was willing to work with the United States, who was willing to show some respect to the United States and, again, most importantly, made that long-term commitment that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," he said.