JD Vance says Iran can’t build a nuclear weapon anymore after US’ strikes

ice President JD Vance declared that the United States has successfully crippled Iran’s nuclear capabilities following precision airstrikes on Saturday (June 21) targeting major nuclear sites. Speaking on Fox News Vance said, “The president, without, knock on wood, having a single American casualty, obliterated the Iranian nuclear program.”

“We are now in a place where we weren't a week ago. A week ago, Iran was very close to having a nuclear weapon. Now Iran is incapable of building a nuclear weapon with the equipment they have because we destroyed it,” Vance added.

Operation Midnight Hammer hits Fordow, Natanz, Isfahan

According to US defense officials, the military operation, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, involved the deployment of 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators on the Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites. Simultaneously, over two dozen Tomahawk missiles were fired at the Isfahan facility from a US.submarine.

The United States’ objective was to eliminate Iran’s ability to enrich it into weapons-grade material. However, questions remain about whether enriched uranium stocks had been relocated before the strikes.

IAEA: No access yet to confirm destruction

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not been able to independently verify the full extent of damage. On Monday, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said, “At this time, no one, including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage” at Fordow, and he demanded access to the sites.

Vance: “This is a great thing — Especially for Israel”

Vance praised the impact of the operation on both US and Israeli strategic interests. “They’ve helped us destroy the Iranian nuclear program. They’ve also destroyed the conventional missile capability of Iran that threatened the country of Israel,” he said.

“For the Iranians, I think this is a new opportunity to actually pursue the path of peace,” Vance continued. “What the Iranians have showed through their support of terror networks, through their now failed effort to build a nuclear weapon, is that they’re just not very good at war.”

On damage: “They are much further away than 24 hours ago”

Speaking to ABC News on whether the nuclear program was definitively destroyed, Vance declined to discuss classified intelligence but asserted: “We know that we set the Iranian nuclear program back substantially… Whether it's years or beyond that, we know it's going to be a very long time before Iran can even build a nuclear weapon if they want to.”

Warning to Tehran: “It would be the stupidest thing in the world”

Vance issued a sharp warning to Iran against retaliating for the US strikes. “If the Iranians want to enlarge this by attacking American troops, I think that would be a catastrophic mistake,” he said.

Trump’s doctrine: Reset for peace

Vance echoed President Trump’s narrative that the operation represented a turning point in regional stability. “I think the president really hit the reset button and said, let’s actually produce long-term peace for the region,” he said. “The 12-day war was an important reset moment for the entire region.”