JD Vance: Iranians ‘Not Very Good At War,’ Should ‘Give Peace A Chance’

Vice President JD Vance twisted the knife on Iran in the hours after a United States strike that crippled multiple nuclear facilities, telling “Meet the Press” anchor Kristen Welker that Iran was apparently “not very good at war.”

Vance began by explaining that the United States did not want to go to war with Iran, but that peace was absolutely contingent on Iran not having access to a nuclear weapon. He said that was what the targeted strike on Iran’s three nuclear facilities was meant to accomplish.

“What we said to the Iranians is that we do not want war with Iran,” he said. “We actually want peace, but we want peace in the context of them not having a nuclear weapons program — and that’s exactly what the President accomplished last night.”

WATCH:

.@VP: “We do not want war with Iran. We actually want peace, but we want peace in the context of them not having a nuclear weapons program — and that’s exactly what the President accomplished last night.” pic.twitter.com/qV1Kp64Qfr

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 22, 2025

Vance said that two questions remained unanswered: whether Iran planned to attack American troops or continue pursuing a nuclear weapons program — either of which could provoke a wider response.

The vice president went on to address claims that the United States had upended any chances at diplomacy with Iran, saying that it was the Islamic Republic that had put an end to diplomatic efforts when efforts made by the United States were not taken seriously.

“The foreign minister is exactly wrong … We only took this action, Kristen, when it was clear, as the president said, that the Iranians were tapping us along.”

Vance recounted the months of negotiations, noting that early on in the administration, there had been some hope that the Iranians might have actually been prepared to come to the table. But when it became clear that they were not truly giving the negotiations a chance, Vance said it became clear that the United States had to act.

“They were trying to draw this process out as long as possible so that they could rebuild their nuclear weapons program without the threat of American action,” Vance explained. “We didn’t blow up the diplomacy. The diplomacy never was given a real chance by the Iranians.”

“The Iranians are clearly not very good at war. Perhaps they should follow President Trump’s lead and give peace a chance,” he concluded.

WATCH:

“We didn’t blow up the diplomacy. The diplomacy never was given a real chance by the Iranians,” says @VP.

“The Iranians are clearly not very good at war. Perhaps they should follow President Trump’s lead and give peace a chance.” pic.twitter.com/pJ2tpqekom

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 22, 2025