US ‘not in war with Iran, nor is it interested in protracted conflicts’: Vance

US Vice President JD Vance, in his first public comments since President Donald Trump authorized US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, emphasized that the US is “not at war” with Iran as he laid out the president’s decision-making process, reports CNN.

“We’re not at war with Iran. We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” Vance said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.”

Later, Vance sought to calm concerns among those who fear the US is drifting toward another extended conflict in the Middle East following US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

“I think the president has been very clear that we are not interested in protracted conflicts in the Middle East,” Vance told ABC News’ “This Week” in an interview that aired on Sunday.

“But there’s a question about, how do you achieve peace? And we believe the way that you achieve peace is through strength,” Vance added, addressing a question about Trump supporters who are uneasy with the intervention.

The vice president said that the administration’s actions were focused and strategic and are not the beginning of a broader military engagement, noting that the goal remains long-term peace in the region, not escalation.

“We took a very narrow and limited approach to destroying the Iranian nuclear program,” he said, adding “I think that more than anything, is going to ensure peaceful resolution in that region of the world. You can’t be weak. You can’t sit there and allow the Iranians to achieve a nuclear weapon.”

Vance went on to counter MAGA supporters who have voiced concerns that military involvement in the Middle East contradicts the president’s non-interventionist promises he made during his 2024 campaign and during his first term as well.

“The president, more than anybody, is worried about protracted military conflicts. That is not what we’re getting ourselves involved in,” Vance said.

Asked what intelligence led to the decision, Vance described a “narrow window of opportunity.”

“We had a narrow window of opportunity. We might not have been able to carry out this attack six months down the road. … We have a narrow window in which we can set that program back a very long time. It would have been irresponsible, I think, for the president not to take the action that he did,” he said.

Vance added, “Of course we trust our intelligence community, but we also trust our instincts. … The Iranians stopped negotiating in good faith – that was the real catalyst.”

The vice president also suggested that Trump arrived at the conclusion to authorize the strikes after issuing what he described as “private ultimatums” to Iran. He declined to detail those ultimatums.

CNN has previously reported that Trump offered Iran a 60-day window in April to negotiate, asking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on striking the country to allow those talks to progress.