Trump has been ‘amazingly consistent’ on Iran nuclear policy, Vance says
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Vice President JD Vance on Monday defended President Donald Trump’s position on Iran in response to what he described as “crazy” accusations on social media.
“Look, I’m seeing this from the inside, and am admittedly biased towards our president (and my friend), but there’s a lot of crazy stuff on social media, so I wanted to address some things directly on the Iran issue,” Vance wrote on X.
He said Trump “has been amazingly consistent, over 10 years, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
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Vice President JD Vance speaks with American Compass founder Oren Cass at the American Compass’ New World Gala in Washington, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“Over the last few months, he encouraged his foreign policy team to reach a deal with the Iranians to accomplish this goal. The president has made clear that Iran cannot have uranium enrichment. And he said repeatedly that this would happen one of two ways–the easy way or the ‘other’ way.”
The vice president said he saw “a lot of confusion” online over the issue of “civilian nuclear power” and “uranium enrichment.”
“These are distinct issues. Iran could have civilian nuclear power without enrichment, but Iran rejected that,” Vance said. “Meanwhile, they’ve enriched uranium far above the level necessary for any civilian purpose. They’ve been found in violation of their non-proliferation obligations by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is hardly a rightwing organization.
“It’s one thing to want civilian nuclear energy. It’s another thing to demand sophisticated enrichment capacity. And it’s still another to cling to enrichment while simultaneously violating basic non-proliferation obligations and enriching right to the point of weapons-grade uranium.”
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while flying aboard Air Force One en route from Calgary, Canada, to Joint Base Andrews, Md., late Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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Vance said he’s yet to see “a single good argument for why Iran needed to enrich uranium well above the threshold for civilian use” and “for why Iran was justified in violating its non-proliferation obligations.”
“I’ve yet to see a single good pushback against the IAEA’s findings,” he wrote. “Meanwhile, the president has shown remarkable restraint in keeping our military’s focus on protecting our troops and protecting our citizens. He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment. That decision ultimately belongs to the president.
“And of course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy. But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue. And having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish American people’s goals. Whatever he does, that is his focus.”
Trump on Tuesday took to TRUTH Social to call for an “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” from Iran on the fifth day since Israel launched its preemptive attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and leadership.
Israeli security forces inspect a site hit by a missile launched from Iran in central Israel Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
The United States has been surging assets to the Middle East and reportedly helped Israel block Iranian counter-strikes.
Trump left the G7 summit in Canada early Monday to head back to Washington, D.C., for a Situation Room meeting on Iran Tuesday afternoon.
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“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump wrote earlier Tuesday in a social media post. “He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump said Tuesday that the United States and Israel have “complete and total control of the skies over Iran.”