Vice President J.D. Vance praised U.S. pilots for hitting a target the size of ‘a washing machine’ halfway across the world in their audacious attack on Iranian nuclear sites.
‘It’s really an incredible operation, a testament to the power of American military, Vance said on NBC’s Meet the Press. ‘These guys flew from Missouri. They didn’t land a single time.’
The veep hit the Sunday morning television circuit to provide more details around the unprecedented U.S. military strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, assering there was no interest in deploying U.S. boots on the ground for a protracted conflict. On Saturday evening, Vance was seen standing behind behind President Donald Trump as he announced what was deemed a ‘successful’ operation.
The sortie involved seven B-2 stealth bombers and a total of 125 military aircraft, including fighter jets and refueling tankers, top Pentagon officials confirmed during a Sunday morning briefing.
‘They dropped 30,000-pound bombs on a target the size of a washing machine and then got back home safely without ever landing in the Middle East or ever stopping other than to briefly refuel … And, of course, they did that in the air,’ the vice president continued.
He said the U.S. ‘substantially delayed’ Iran’s nuclear program, but said he would not get into ‘sensitive intelligence’ when pressed by host Kristen Welker on how many years the program would be set back.
Earlier Sunday at the Pentagon, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine told the press that it’s too early to know the full extent of the damage to Iran’s key nuclear sites.
‘I think we set that program back substantially, and we did it without endangering the lives of the American pilots,’ Vance claimed. ‘That’s an incredible thing, and I think we all should be proud of, whatever our politics, we should be proud of what these guys accomplished.’
When asked by Welker if the U.S. is ‘at war with Iran,’ the VP shot down the idea, reiterating: ‘We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program.’
The 40-year-old Republican also told Welker that the Iranian regime dragged out nuclear negotiations intentionally to buy time for them to create a nuclear weapon.
Trump’s envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff was even due to meet with Iranian negotiators for talks on a nuclear deal on the same weekend Israel launched an attack on its longtime adversary last week.
The Israeli forces and Mossad killed one of the Iranian negotiators who had met with U.S. officials, according to the New York Times.
‘The diplomacy never was given a real chance by the Iranians,’ Vance argued.
The VP then gave Iran a warning should it seek to escalate military tensions in the region.
Vance said it would be ‘suicidal’ for the Iranians if they decided to cut off the Strait of Hormuz, which by some estimates facilitates a quarter of the globe’s oil flow. Such a move would trigger rippling economic consequences.
The administration has been adamant about striking a deal with Iran that keeps nuclear weapons out of the country.
The desire in the White House to strike a deal remains, Vance said.
‘I just can’t be clear enough here,’ he stressed. ‘The president has said he wants now to engage in a diplomatic process.’
But on Fox News Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a much more harrowing assessment of Iran.
‘If Iran is committed to becoming a nuclear weapons power, I do think it puts the regime at risk. I think it would be the end of the regime,’ Rubio said.
Named Operation Midnight Hammer, the U.S. military mission employed elaborate deception tactics, top defense officials revealed Sunday.
“We sent the B-2s in and out and back without the world knowing at all,” said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
According to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine, Iran failed to launch any planes in response, and no U.S. aircraft took enemy fire.
Caine said the mission’s goal was to degrade Iran’s nuclear program, but Hegseth boasted that “Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been obliterated.”
Defense officials emphasized that the strikes did not target Iranian troops or civilians.
