US Vice President JD Vance recently claimed that Iran is now further away from developing a nuclear weapon than at any point in the last two to three decades, while warning that the United States retains multiple options if Tehran attempts to rebuild its nuclear programme or threatens regional security.
Speaking on the US approach towards Iran, Vance said the recent actions taken by the administration had achieved their intended objectives and stressed that military force should only be used with clearly defined goals.
"Iranians are further away from developing a nuclear bomb than they have ever been since basically the last 20-30 years," Vance said.
He added that if Iran attempts to revive its nuclear programme or continues to threaten neighbouring countries or fund terrorism, President Donald Trump has "options" to respond.
"If the Iranians try to rebuild the nuclear program, the President's got options. If the Iranians try to threaten their neighbors or fund terrorism, we've got options," he said.
Vance, however, emphasised that the US should never resort to military action without a clear purpose.
"But what we must never do is drop bombs just for the sake of dropping bombs. And that is what the President will never ask you to do," he said.
According to Vance, President Trump would only authorise military action with a clearly defined objective.
"He'll ask you to go to war, yes. But when he asks you to go to war, he'll tell you exactly what you're going for. And I think that is what you should expect out of your political leadership," he said.
Referring to recent US military strikes, Vance said the action was taken after Iran targeted commercial shipping.
"We dropped some bombs a couple of days ago. You know why? Because the Iranians were shooting at commercial ships," he said.
He claimed the strikes helped restore safe commercial transit, adding that shipping had moved freely in the days that followed.
"We dropped some bombs, we applied some leverage, and we've had free commercial transit for the last three days," Vance said.
The Vice President also criticised those who opposed the administration's diplomatic engagement with Iran while previously supporting prolonged military campaigns elsewhere.
"What I noticed about the people who are attacking the administration for negotiating is that they are the very same people who encouraged us to drop a few more bombs on places like Afghanistan. Those people refused to say what we were dropping bombs for," he said.
