Vice President JD Vance issued a no-nonsense warning to Iran if the country decides to attack the US.
On Sunday morning, Vance, who said the US is ‘not at war’ with Iran, explained that if the nation decides to retaliate ‘they are going to be met with overwhelming force.’
‘I don’t think the president could be clearer about this,’ Vance told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl.
‘If you look at what we did yesterday John – we did not attack the nation of Iran, we did not attack any civilian targets, we didn’t even attack military targets outside of the three nuclear weapons facilities that we thought were important to accomplish our goal of preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon,’ he continued.
Vance went on to say that it is now up to Iran on what happens next, adding ‘that the ball is in their court.’
‘But if you look at what we did, it was very precise, very narrowly tailored to our objective. And if the Iranians decide to expand this then that’s ultimately their decision, and the president of the United States will respond in kind.’
The vice president also took a moment to confirm that the US is prepared ‘to defend as many of our people as possible’ if Iran decides to ‘attack us at a maximal direction.’
‘First of all, we’ve got maximum defensive posture. I think that we’re going to be able to defend as many of our people as possible, and of course, I’d encourage Americans to pray for our guys in the Middle East,’ Vance stated, adding that US troops are ‘under a significant amount of duress and a significant amount of threat right now.’
His response comes after President Donald Trump launched ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’ Saturday night, sending a fleet of B-2 bombers to key nuclear sites in Iran.
Now, the entire country and world watches to see what Iran will do next, leaving many fearful of a terror attack on US soil.
The National Terrorism Advisory System has warned of a ‘heightened threat environment in the United States’ following the strikes on Iran.
The alert, first reported by CBS News, said there is a heightened threat that ‘the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict could motivate violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators seeking to attack targets.’
The bulletin further added that there is a risk of ‘low level cyber attacks against US networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists.’
US law enforcement has ‘disrupted multiple potentially lethal Iranian-backed plots in the United States since 2020’, the advisory said.
On Sunday morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hailed the strikes as ‘bold’ and ‘brilliant.’
He also warned Iran that there would be dire consequences if it does not come to the negotiating table.
Hegseth said three key nuclear sites were ‘severely damaged’ around 2.10am Iranian time.
‘We devastated the Iranian nuclear program. It’s worth noting the operation did not target the Iranian troops or the Iranian people,’ he continued.
‘Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been obliterated. Many presidents have dreamed of delivering the final blow to Iran’s nuclear program. And none could – until President Trump.’
He declared: ‘American deterrence is back.’
Officials admitted that the strikes on the Fordow site, a deep underground nuclear enrichment facility, may not have been entirely destroyed in the operation.
Sources told the New York Times that the B-2 strikes on Iran’s facility in Fordow – a uranium enrichment site buried deep underground – did not entirely destroy the site.
The press conference came as Iran’s foreign minister branded Trump a ‘lawless bully’ who ‘betrayed’ diplomacy after the US blew up three nuclear bases – as he warned the world has been thrown into an ‘unprecedented level of danger.’
Early Sunday morning, Iran retaliated by targeting Israel in a devastating set of attacks – with emergency services reporting at least 16 people are injured, including a young man with shrapnel wounds to his upper body.
Israel responded by striking the Iranian port city of Bushehr, which hosts the nation’s only functioning nuclear power plant.
Republicans and Democrats alike have shared their fears and complaints about Trump’s decision to bomb Iran – something he said he was going to come to make a decision about within two weeks.
One of his top allies, Marjorie Taylor Greene, expressed her fears that terrorists will attack on US soil and cause ‘another foreign war.’
Soon after the bombs dropped, Greene took to X stating that she prayed Americans would not be targeted by terrorists ‘on our homeland’ in retaliation to Trump’s operative strike, noting that it may be possible after having an open border ‘for the past four years.’
Greene wrote: ‘Every time America is on the verge of greatness, we get involved in another foreign war. There would not be bombs falling on the people of Israel if Netanyahu had not dropped bombs on the people of Iran first.
‘Israel is a nuclear armed nation. This is not our fight. Peace is the answer.’
She added: ‘Let us pray that we are not attacked by terrorists on our homeland after our border was open for the past 4 years and over 2 Million gotaways came in. Let us pray for peace.’
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy also raised doubt over Trump’s assessment that Iran was on the brink of developing nuclear weapons.
The Democrat said on X following the strike that he was told the nation was not close to developing a nuclear weapon when he was ‘briefed on the intelligence last week.’
‘Iran posed no imminent threat of attack to the United States,’ he said.
‘Iran was not close to building a deliverable nuclear weapon. The negotiations Israel scuttled with their strikes held the potential for success.’
