Vance: U.S. conflict is with Iran’s nuclear program, not the country itself.

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US Vice President JD Vance speaks during a discussion at the Munich Leaders meeting hosted by the Munich Security Conference at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, May 7, 2025. 

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Vice President JD Vance emphasized on Sunday that the United States is not at war with Iran, but rather with "Iran's nuclear program," shortly after the U.S. conducted late-night strikes on three of the country's nuclear sites. Vance's comments followed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's assertion that Iran's "nuclear ambitions have been obliterated" as a result of the attacks on facilities at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Iran retains all options for self-defense in light of the U.S. strikes, raising concerns of a significant escalation in the region. When NBC News' Kristen Welker inquired about the U.S. response to potential retaliation by Iran, Vance replied: "We do not want war with Iran; we genuinely seek peace, but we want peace in the context of them not having a nuclear weapons program, and that's exactly what the president achieved last night."

White House officials, including Trump, celebrated the success of the late-night mission in destroying the nuclear facilities, but the extent of the damage remained unclear on Sunday. Vance did not disclose whether the three nuclear sites targeted by the U.S. still have operational capacity. 

"I'm not going to get into sensitive intelligence about what we've observed on the ground 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 stated.

This is breaking news and will be updated.