US VP Vance Highlights Ceasefire, Nuclear Strike Success in Interview with Fox News

By Kamaran Aziz

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed the successful negotiation of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel and underscored the obliteration of Iran’s nuclear program during a live interview with Fox News anchor Brett Baier on Monday evening.

The interview followed an announcement by President Donald J. Trump via Truth Social, stating that a "Complete and Total CEASEFIRE" had been agreed between Israel and Iran, set to take effect approximately six hours from the announcement. The ceasefire, according to Trump, would be implemented in two 12-hour phases: first by Iran, then by Israel, formally concluding what he called "THE 12 DAY WAR."

"We were actually working on that just as I left the White House," Vance told Fox News. He described the announcement as "good news" and stated that the president had been "working the phones constantly" in recent days to finalize the agreement.

Vance emphasized the effectiveness of the U.S. military strikes, noting, "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."

While Vice President Vance acknowledged that uranium still exists in Iran, he clarified that the mission's success was measured by the destruction of Iran's capacity to enrich uranium and convert it into a nuclear weapon. "Our goal was to eliminate the enrichment and eliminate their ability to convert that enriched fuel into a nuclear weapon," he stated.

Addressing concerns about potential future rebuilding by Iran, Vance remarked, "If Iran is desperate to build a nuclear weapon in the future, then they're gonna have to deal with a very, very powerful American military again."

On regime change, Vance clarified the administration's position, stating, "Our mission was to destroy the nuclear facilities and the nuclear program of Iran, which we, of course, did. The Iranian people can make a decision about regime change; that's between them and the regime."

Responding to Iranian missile fire targeting the U.S. Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which occurred just before the ceasefire deal, Vance described it as a symbolic move. "They actually gave us some warning... there's definitely some symbolism to this," he said, pointing to the limited damage and advance notice.

Asked about potential discrepancies in Iran’s public and private communications, Vance noted, "What they say publicly and privately can sometimes be very different. I think the Iranians are at a place where they don't want to keep on fighting."

Vice President Vance expressed optimism about future peace prospects, saying, "We really think that if the Iranians are smart about the path forward, this could be a new dawn of an economic age of prosperity... for our Gulf Arab allies, for us, for the Israelis, for everybody."

Fox News reported that the ceasefire plan detailed by President Trump was relayed through intermediaries and stressed that it marked the end of active conflict and the beginning of a potential peace process in the region.

Vance concluded the interview by emphasizing the success of the operation: "In one week, without, thank God, so far not losing a single American casualty, we have taken what was a threatening nuclear program... now that program is gone."

You can watch the full interview below:

And, you can read full transcript of US VP J.D. Vance Interview with Fox News below:

Brett Baier: Seconds ago, the president went to Truth Social and typed this. It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a complete and total ceasefire. Complete and total ceasefire is what he typed. Yep. What does that mean? How did it come about? What's the development?

VP Vance: Yep. Well, we were actually working on that just as I left the White House to come over here. So that's good news that the president was able to get that across the finish line. I think what it means, Brett, is quite simple. First of all, 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. 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. So that's a very, very big thing. Now what that means, I think, is we have to talk to Iran and, of course, to Israel about what the future holds. Because while we have obliterated the Iranian nuclear program, our hope and our expectation is that they're not gonna try to rebuild that program. And I think that's what the president is really trying to figure out here is to build a long term settlement here to where we can have peace in the region, where our regional allies and, of course, the American people most importantly can be secured, but where we can ensure that the destruction of the Iranian nuclear program that has already happened is not something they try to rebuild.

Brett Baier: I wanna get to the obliterated part in just a minute, but I just wanna read this fully so I get the context here. “Congratulations to everyone. It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a complete and total ceasefire in approximately six hours from now when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress final missions for twelve hours, at which point the ceasefire for twelve hours. Sure. At which point the war will be considered ended. Officially, Iran will start the ceasefire, and upon the twelfth hour, Israel will start the ceasefire. And upon the twenty fourth hour, an official end to the twelve day war will be saluted by the world. During each ceasefire, the other side will remain peaceful and respectful on the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will. I would like to congratulate both countries, Israel and Iran, on having the stamina, courage, and intelligence to end what should be called the twelve day war. This is a war that could have gone on for years and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn't and never will. God bless Israel. God bless Iran. God God bless Iran. God bless the Middle East. God bless The United States Of America, and God bless the world.” He seems confident that this is all coming together.

VP Vance: That's right.

Brett Baier: And when you left the White House, were you thinking this was all gelling here?

VP Vance: When I left the White House, I thought that we might be able to get it across the finish line before this broadcast, and it looks like the president has been able to do that. I mean, look. He's been working the phones constantly. Frankly, before the twelve day war started, but certainly over the past twelve days, the president's been extremely clear about America's national objective here. It is to create a world where Iran cannot build a nuclear weapon. We, of course, destroyed the nuclear program that they had, and the president told the entire team we're gonna work to make sure that they don't try to rebuild that nuclear capability in the future. And it's look. This is a great thing. For Israel, think about this. They've accomplished an important military objective. 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. For the Iranians, I think this is a new opportunity to actually pursue the path of peace. As I said yesterday, 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. And I think the president really hit the reset button and said, look. Let's actually produce long term peace for the region. That's always been his goal. I actually think when we look back, we will say the twelve day war was an important reset moment for the entire region.

Brett Baier: Would you be surprised if Iran is sending out signals that it doesn't have a specific ceasefire plan? How would the communication have been with the Iranians to get this level of confidence to put out that detailed statement?

VP Vance: Well, one of the things I've learned, Brett, about the Iranians in the past, you know, four or five months that I've been in this job is what they say publicly and privately can sometimes be very different. I think what the Iranians have shown very clearly is they don't want this war to go on for much longer. Their air defenses have been totally destroyed. Their conventional missile program has been largely destroyed. And, of course, their nuclear program has been obliterated as I said before. So I think the Iranians are at a place where they don't wanna keep on fighting. You you saw the president, and I don't have the the Social Truth post in front of me, but he talked about the next six hours finalizing the attacks. I mean, what what I think what he's talking about is right now for the American people watching, it's dark over there. That's typically when the Israelis and the Iranians have been shooting at each other. I think there's some recognition that that might continue for another few hours, and tomorrow really is a new day. The end of the twelve day war, the end of the Iranian nuclear program, and I really do believe the beginning of something very big for peace in the Middle East.

Brett Baier: So you said totally obliterated. The president has said totally obliterated the Iran nuclear program. Do you know for sure where all the highly enriched uranium is?

VP Vance: Well, Brett, I think that's actually not the question before us. The question before us is, can Iran enrich the uranium to weapons grade level, and can they convert that fuel to a nuclear weapon? And we know based on the success of our mission, of course, the leadership of the president, but the incredible skill of our military that the two mission objectives are completely successful. We know that they cannot build a nuclear weapon. Now you asked about the highly enriched uranium.

Brett Baier: Yeah. Like, 900 pounds of it.

VP Vance: But what we know, Brett, is that in uranium is something that exists in very large supply. Our goal was to bury the uranium, and I do think the uranium is buried. But our goal was to eliminate the enrichment and eliminate their ability to convert that enriched fuel into a nuclear weapon. I actually just I think that's an important point, Brett, because so many of the folks who have focused on the highly enriched uranium; Main focus, Brett, has been to destroy their enrichment capacity because we don't want that 60% in uranium to become 90% in uranium.  That's the real concern, and that's what was so successful about our mission.

Brett Baier: So after all this, if the Iranian government survives as is, what's to stop it from rebuilding over time if they, in fact, moved the 60% highly enriched uranium? You know, that's the concern.

VP Vance: No. The the the the big concern, Brett, and this is again what we destroyed, is their ability to enrich uranium. If they have 60% enriched uranium, but they don't have the ability to enrich it to 90%, and further, they don't have the ability to convert that to a nuclear weapon, That is mission success. That is the obliteration of their nuclear program, which is why the president, I think, rightly is using that term. But here's the question. If Iran is desperate to build a nuclear weapon in the future, then they're gonna have to deal with a very, very powerful American military again. Our hope is that the lesson that the Iranians have learned here is, look, we can fly a bunker buster bomb from Missouri to Iran completely undetected without landing once on the ground, and we can destroy whatever nuclear capacity you build up. I think that lesson is what's gonna teach them not to rebuild their nuclear capacity.

Brett Baier: Yesterday, were you speaking on the president's behalf when you said he was not interested in regime change?

VP Vance: Well, Brett, what I've said is the American military, that is not our mission as regime change. Our mission was to destroy the nuclear facilities and the nuclear program of Iran, which we, of course, did. I think what the president's also said is that the Iranian people wanna make a decision about regime change. That's between the Iranian people and the regime. Of course, we support freedom fighters all around the world, but our mission was to destroy the nuclear facilities, and that's what we did.

Brett Baier: So you don't think there's any mixed message when he goes to Truth Social and says it's not politically correct to use the term regime change, but if the current Iranian regime is unable to make Iran great again, why wouldn't there be a regime change?

VP Vance: Well, I think what the president is saying very clearly, Brett, is if the Iranian people want to do something about their own leadership, that's up to the Iranian people. What the American national security interest here is very simple. It's to destroy the nuclear program. That's what we've done. And now that the twelve day war appears to be effectively over, we have an opportunity, I think, to restart a real peace process. And and and, Brett, this is not just about two countries, Iran and Israel. All of these Gulf Arab states, they want peace. They want to invest. They wanna build artificial intelligence hardware. They wanna sort of come into the new economy, and that was impossible when you had Iran that was, as the president said, acting like a bully across the Middle East. We really think that if the Iranians are smart about the path forward, this could be a new dawn of an economic age of prosperity, of course, for our Gulf Arab allies, for us, for the Israelis, for everybody, but it's gonna require the Iranians play it smart from here.

Brett Baier: The president called it very weak, the Iran missile firing on The US base in Qatar, Al Udeid. Was it a face saving move? How do you get from that firing missiles at a US base to a ceasefire as he details in his Truth Social?

VP Vance: Well, as the president said, they actually gave us some warning here. And we think they gave us some warning because they didn't wanna kill Americans and they didn't wanna escalate. There's definitely some symbolism to this spread. If you look at the Iranian attack, it was 14 missiles that they telegraphed ahead of time. We dropped 14 bunker buster bombs. As the president told me earlier, our missiles our bombs were a little bit bigger than their bombs. Our bombs actually accomplished the goal of eliminating their nuclear program. But look, we're happy again to restart the peace process as the president just did today.

Brett Baier: The message delivered directly to The US or through an emissary?

VP Vance: The message is always delivered through some sort of intermediary. That's been consistently true of the Iranians. Of course, we'd love to talk to them. The president's been clear about this. We'd love to have a direct conversation about how we move this thing forward because, again, we had to step back here. Why did the president do what he did over the past week? It's so that we could destroy their nuclear program. If they try to rebuild it, they're gonna be on the wrong end of American power once again. We don't want that. I think they don't want that, but the ball's in their hands.

Brett Baier: You've been reluctant or at least cautious about getting engaged, previously, and that has been public. What made you sign on to this action this time?

VP: Vance: Well, I think the president has been very clear, and I've always agreed with the president that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon. And you try to run the diplomatic process as much as you possibly can. When the president decided that wasn't gonna work, he took the action that he had to take. Now we're in a new phase. That action was successful. We had a wildly successful military operation to take out their nuclear program. Now let's go on to the next phase. And I think the president, look, sometimes he's willing to use peace. Sometimes he's willing to use the military. I think it really depends on what the Iranians do from here.

Brett Baier: And what do you think they do from here?

VP Vance: Well, it's an open question, Brett. I I don't wanna predict what the other side will do, but I think that I I know what we'll do if they continue to pursue a nuclear weapon. And I hope they don't choose that path because I know the president wants to see the Middle East become peaceful and prosperous in the future. That's not gonna happen if Iran pursues a nuclear weapon again.

Brett Baier: And for the people so we talked about the people who who believe that this is going towards World War three, especially in your own party. There's a section that's very vocal. There's another section that says you should take out this regime because it's evil and horrible and has done horrible things for decades. How do you square those two sides, and can this regime stay in place and still have a peaceful, you know, reaction relationship with The US?

VP Vance: Well, I think the president has squared those two sides quite well. One, because he's the leader of the movement, and a lot of people trust the president as they should. They recognize they're not seeing the same intelligence. They're not seeing the same classified documents. They trust the president to do a good job. But importantly, Brett, I I think he's threaded the needle quite well here. We had a very particular objective. It was profound and difficult to accomplish. Of the Iranian nuclear program. I think they were close. And I think the president succeed successfully did that. You're asking, were the Iranians close to new nuclear weapon? Brett, they were very close to nuclear weapon. And what I'd encourage my fellow Americans to think about here is that a week ago, the Iranians were quite close to achieving a nuclear weapon. Now they cannot build a nuclear weapon. That is the biggest testament to the president's leadership and to the success of our mission. In one week, without, thank god so far, not losing a single American casualty, we have taken what was a threatening nuclear program that could have destabilized the entire world. Now that program is gone. We did it through effective presidential leadership and also some very, very competent work from our troops.

Brett Baier: How often does it happen where you're gonna do an interview and you get a true social seconds before? You have some sense of it, but it's pretty detailed where you are being asked about something the president has just put out.

VP Vance: In this administration, Brett, it happens quite a bit actually, but we knew this was coming. The the draft, it was interesting. I just read the draft about two minutes before we went on the air. It was a little bit different from what the president had showed me a couple of hours ago. But, again, I knew that he was working the phones as I was on the way over here, so I knew exactly what we were gonna do. And and look, I I I love that about this presidency and this administration is he's always working. He doesn't say, you know, the vice president's gonna do an interview, so I'm gonna stop doing anything. He says, you know, we're gonna do the American people's business. The vice president knows what I'm trying to accomplish. And if I get it done, great, because we're gonna talk about it and celebrate it because it is a thing to celebrate. I can't emphasize this enough, Brett. We have destroyed the Iranian nuclear program. Zero Americans have died. That's an amazing, amazing thing. Americans, whether Democrats or Republicans, we should be celebrating that.