Vice President JD Vance warned that an Iranian nuclear weapon would spark a regionwide nuclear arms race among Middle Eastern powers.
Vance discussed the nuclear “quagmire” in an interview with Megyn Kelly released on Wednesday.
“If the Iranians get a nuclear weapon, you know who gets a nuclear weapon, like the next day? The Saudi Arabians and then somebody else in the Gulf Arab states,” Vance said.
Vance made it clear that President Donald Trump’s agenda includes mitigating nuclear weaponry globally and said the president has “no interest” in repeating the history in Iraq in the early aughts. He added that the United States must balance engagement and firmness.
“Iran can’t have nuclear weapons. That is the stated policy goal of the president of the United States,” Vance said. “What the president is going to do is he is going to keep his options open. He’s going to talk to everybody. He’s going to try to accomplish what he can through nonmilitary means. If he feels like the military is the only option, then he’s ultimately going to choose that option.”
Kelly asked about the future of Iran as protests against the regime continue. She drew a comparison of U.S. capturing Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, leading to the notion that Trump was now running the country.
“The president is very aware of all of the stuff,” Vance said, noting the comparison. “In a perfect world, I would love it if a bunch of freedom-loving Iranians … took over their own country and had a government that was much more friendly to the United States of America? … Absolutely that would be a good thing.”
Vance added that the president continues to sympathize with the Iranian people, but nuclear weapons remain a paramount interest.
Iran would not be able to produce nuclear weapons while Trump is in office, Vance said, but the administration is concerned with 30 years down the road.
“Nuclear proliferation, that is very much a bad thing and something an America First foreign policy should focus on,” Vance said. “That is certainly where the president is most worried about.”
Vance’s comments come as Steve Wtikoff prepares to meet with Iranian officials in Oman on Friday.
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Iran has said it will only discuss its nuclear program, while U.S. officials have sought to include negotiations on Tehran’s missile arsenal.
Trump has kept mum over the possibility of striking Iran, eliciting a “will they or won’t they” narrative. He has said Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should “be very worried.”
