By Vice President J.D. Vance sought to calm fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East on Sunday, insisting the United States is not at war with Iran, despite a trio of high-stakes airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities ordered by President Donald Trump. Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Vance framed the strikes as a narrowly tailored mission to disrupt Iran’s nuclear ambitions—not the beginning of a broader military campaign.
The strikes, which hit Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan sites, were publicly confirmed Saturday night in a Truth Social post by the former—and likely future—commander in chief. Vance praised the operation as a “remarkable feat” of modern warfare, crediting U.S. Air Force pilots with executing a transcontinental bombing mission with surgical precision, writes The Daily Caller.
“No, Kristen [Welker], we’re not at war with Iran. We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program and let me just say, Kristen, that we’re incredibly grateful and proud of the American Air Force pilots who did an incredible job last night,” Vance said. “The operation was really extraordinary. These guys flew from Missouri, they didn’t land a single time, 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.”
Vance said the operation was a “testament to the power of American military,” which he said successfully carried out the operation without “endangering the lives” of the pilots.
“Whatever our politics, we should be proud of what these guys accomplished,” the vice president added.
The mission marks one of the most technologically complex long-range air operations in recent U.S. history and underscores the nation’s continued dominance in stealth strike capability. Yet it comes amid renewed scrutiny from Congress over presidential war powers.
While Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) backed Trump’s decision, lawmakers in the House signaled growing unease. Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) blasted the action as “unconstitutional,” citing the absence of congressional authorization. The pair reintroduced legislation last week to bar the president from launching further “unauthorized hostilities” against Tehran.
Trump, for his part, has promised a decision within two weeks on whether to escalate further—a prospect that has injected volatility into an already fraught geopolitical landscape.
As foreign policy hawks and non-interventionists clash once again, the strikes have reignited long-simmering debates over executive authority, Middle East entanglements, and the risks of military adventurism. Yet for now, the White House line is clear: this was a message, not a war.
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