Vice President Vance on Iran: 'We Actually Want Peace.'

Speaking with "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker, Vice President JD Vance gave a succinct response to President Trump's ordering the reduction by high explosives of several Iranian nuclear development sites.

.@VP: "We do not want war with Iran. We actually want peace, but we want peace in the context of them not having a nuclear weapons program — and that's exactly what the President accomplished last night." pic.twitter.com/qV1Kp64Qfr
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 22, 2025

The Vice President said:

What we said to the Iranians is we do not want war with Iran, we actually want peace. But we want peace in the context of them not having a nuclear weapons program. And that's exactly what the president accomplished last night. I really think there are two big questions for the Iranians here. Are they going to attack American troops, or are they going to continue with their nuclear weapons program? And if they leave American troops out of it, and they decide to give up their nuclear weapons program, once and for all, then I think the president has been very clear. We can have a good relationship with the Iranians. We can have a peaceful situation in that region of the world.

There's a caveat there that the vice president left unmentioned, almost certainly intentionally, as it's not the time to stir this particular pot, but I'll say it: There won't be any good relationship between the United States and Iran as long as the mullahs are reigning in Tehran.

The vice president continued:

We have to step back a little bit, Kristen, and remind ourselves, that we negotiated aggressively with the Iranians to try to find a peaceful settlement to this conflict. It was only when the president decided that the Iranians were not negotiating in good faith, that he took this action. He didn't take it lightly, but I actually think if provides an opportunity to reset this relationship, reset these negotiations, and get us in a place where Iran can decide not to be a threat to its neighbors, not to be a threat to the United States, and if they're willing to do that, the United States is all ears.

The president was correct in the decision that Vice President Vance mentions here: The Iranians were not negotiating in good faith. Iran, under the current theocratic regime, never has and never will negotiate in good faith. It's not the United States' place to attempt a regime change in Iran, and any American attempts along those lines are actually likely to make things worse. But there is a historic opportunity for the Iranian people to take action, and in that, the United States could provide some valued support - support that would have helped the Iranian people in 2009, had we only provided it.

'Operation Midnight Hammer' Was a Flawless Success - SecDef Hegseth, CJCS Caine Speak From the Pentagon

Later, the vice president took to his official X account to express some more thoughts:

Two thoughts this morning:

The operation last night is an incredible testament to American pilots and other service members, from General Caine and General Kurilla on down.

While the media has attacked the president's senior team relentlessly, and tried to sow fake division,…
— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 22, 2025

The post continues:

While the media has attacked the president's senior team relentlessly, and tried to sow fake division, last night would have been impossible without perfect coordination and discretion from the president's national security team. I'm incredibly proud of them, and I know the president is, too.

The operation, wonderfully dubbed "Operation Midnight Hammer" was a success largely because the administration marched in lockstep and maintained operational security: No leaks to the press, no leaks to Democrats (but I repeat myself) and no spilled information that may have been used to try to chock the wheels of the plan once it kicked off. This was a well-planned and well-executed operation, wherein our people went in, got the job done, and departed without loss.

Now, in Tehran, the mullahs have some decisions of their own to make. To paraphrase a famous American movie quote: Let's hope they choose wisely.

Every single day, here at RedState, we will stand up and FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT against the radical left and deliver the conservative reporting our readers deserve.

Help us continue to tell the truth about the Trump administration and its major wins. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.