JAKARTA - Vice President JD Vance said his belief that Iran's nuclear program had experienced "years of setbacks" as a result of the United States attack, and the operation was based on US intelligence assessments, not Israel.
President Donald Trump said the US had completed a "very successful attack" on three nuclear facility points in Iran, Saturday, June 21.
In an upload on Truth Social, President Trump stated that all US aircraft had come out of Iran's airspace, amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
Vice President Vance told NBC's "Meet the Press" event he was "deeply convinced that we had postponed the development of nuclear weapons (Iran)," quoted from The Times of Israel June 23.
And, although unable to provide an official assessment, he expects Iran will need "years" before it can reach the bomb.
When asked whether President Donald Trump gave the green light to the operation based on US intelligence or Israel's assessment of Iran's nuclear capabilities, Vice President Vance said it was "our intelligence" that led to the decision.
"Of course we share intelligence with many agencies, Britain, Israel, and so on, but our intelligence is what motivates us to act," he explained.
Vice President Vance explained, Uncle Sam's country identified "Iran produces highly enriched uranium that is only in accordance with their desire to build nuclear weapons," and while "of course there are open questions about whether they will do so in a few weeks or months they are too close to nuclear weapons for the convenience of the president of the United States, that's why he chose this action."
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Vice President Vance stressed that although the US felt nuclear talks with Iran were rather productive in March, in mid-May, "Iran appears to be blocking" negotiations, which are "in fact stories hidden here. Iran has stopped negotiating with good faith, and that is the real catalyst" the decision to attack.
When asked if the US would support the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by Israel, Vice President Vance claimed such a move was "handed up to Israel" and reiterated the US position was "we don't want a regime change."
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