President Donald Trump’s goals toward Iran amid a massive regional military buildup are “crystal clear,” his vice president argued Wednesday: the country must not possess a nuclear weapon.
“The president has been as crystal clear as he could be. Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon. That would be the ultimate military objective, if that’s the route that he chose,” Vice President JD Vance said in a Fox News interview, adding Trump’s “preferred route” to achieve that goal was diplomacy.
Vance suggested any confusion about Trump’s strategic objectives was misplaced, insisting the red line was “simple,” even though the president has yet to make a comprehensive public case for renewed conflict.
“I think most Americans understand that you can’t let the craziest and worst regime in the world have nuclear weapons. That’s what the president is accomplishing. That’s what the president has set as our goal,” Vance said.
Iran does not currently have a nuclear weapon, and Trump has insisted Tehran’s nuclear enrichment program was “obliterated” during an American bombing run last June.
During his State of the Union address, Trump claimed Iran was again “pursuing their sinister ambitions,” and was refusing to utter “those secret words: We will never have a nuclear weapon.”
But Iran has repeatedly said it is not pursuing nuclear weapons.
There are many reasons to question that claim, including Iran’s previous enrichment of uranium to near-weapons grade. But Trump’s emphasis on the country’s words alone seemed to raise more questions about what, precisely, he is looking for in a deal with the country’s leaders.
