He further emphasised that the US has significant capacity to inflict damage on Iran’s nuclear program and missile capabilities, threatening US troops.
In a conversation with Fox News, he said, “We have a lot of capacity here. I think there’s a lot of chatter about what our objectives are, what our goal is. I mean, I think the president’s been extremely clear about our objectives. And it’s that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Vice President Vance on military operations in Iran:
“The President wants to make it clear to the Iranians and to the world that he is not going to rest until he accomplishes that all-important objective of ensuring that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon.”???? pic.twitter.com/QXOxCAi87D
— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) March 3, 2026
Vance assured the president has various options and won’t rest until Iran commits to not building a nuclear weapon long-term.
“I think the president just wants to make it clear to the Iranians and to the world that he is not going to rest until he accomplishes that all important objective of ensuring that Iran can have a nuclear weapon, not just for the next few years, not just because we obliterated Fordow or some other enrichment facility, but because the Iranians themselves commit long term to not building a nuclear weapon,” he added.
Vance stated that negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme fell apart after US authorities judged Tehran’s assertions “did not pass the smell test,” causing President Trump to launch Operation Epic Fury.
He explained that US envoys, including Marco Rubio, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff, engaged in intensive negotiations with Iranian officials in Geneva to trade sanctions relief for a halt to their nuclear programme. Despite efforts to prevent a wider regional conflict, Vance noted, “But the Iranians would come back to us, and they’d say, ‘Well, you know, having enrichment for civilian purposes, for energy purposes, is a matter of national pride’.”
“And, so we would say, ‘OK, that’s interesting, but why are you building your enrichment facilities 70 feet underground? And why are you enriching to a level that’s way beyond civilian enrichment and is only useful if your goal is to build a nuclear bomb?’” he said.
While Vance clarified that the US does not object to Iran producing medical isotopes, he maintained that the current trajectory of their programme failed the ‘smell test.’
“Nobody objects to the Iranians being able to build medical isotopes; the objection is these enrichment facilities that are only useful for building a nuclear weapon. It just doesn’t pass the smell test for you to say that you want enrichment for medical isotopes, while at the same time trying to build a facility 70 to 80 feet underground,” he said.
He emphasised that while President Trump had previously set back Iran’s programme, he was now seeking a permanent resolution to prevent the regime from remaining on the ‘brink’ of nuclear capability.
“We destroyed Iran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon during President Trump’s term. We set them back substantially. But I think the President was looking for the long haul. Trump was looking for Iran to make a significant long-term commitment that they would never build a nuclear weapon, that they would not pursue the ability to be on the brink of a nuclear weapon,” Vance said.
On February 28, 2026, US and Israeli forces struck Tehran and assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khameni, Iran’s Supreme leader. According to Al Jazeera, at least 555 Iranians have been killed in US-Israel strikes in the last three days.