OAN Staff Blake Wolf
10:22 AM – Sunday, June 22, 2025
Vice President JD Vance stated on Sunday that the United States is not at war with Iran, but rather “we’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program.”
Vance made a Sunday appearance on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” with Kristen Welker, declaring the Saturday night U.S. strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities as an operational 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.
Advertisement
Vance was asked what a potential response from the United States would look like should Iran respond with a retaliatory attack, to which he stated: “That’s ultimately going to be the president’s decision.”
“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 continued.
Vance stopped short of confirming that the Iranian nuclear sites were 100% destroyed, rather claiming that Iran’s ability to develop 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,” Vance explained.
Vance was later asked if the United States expects Iran to respond with an economic attack by disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping hub which could potentially spike 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 stated.
“The Iranians are clearly not very good at war. Perhaps they should follow President Trump’s lead and give peace a chance,” Vance added. “If they’re serious about it, I guarantee you the President of the United States is too.”
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts