Trump is not ‘dumb’ like past U.S. leaders – Vance

The bombing of Iran is totally “different” from previous US wars, the vice president has claimed.

Vice President J.D. Vance has pushed back against comparisons between US airstrikes on Iran and previous American wars in the Middle East, claiming that this time Washington’s actions are truly limited and rooted in national security objectives – not a drive for regime change.

In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Vance emphasized that “we’re not at war with Iran – we’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” describing the overnight strike as “a very precise, very surgical” operation that allegedly dismantled Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.

Responding to concerns that the United States could be drawn into another prolonged conflict, Vance said the difference lies in leadership. “I certainly empathize with Americans who are exhausted after 25 years of foreign entanglements in the Middle East,” he said.

But the difference is that back then we had dumb presidents, and now we have a president who actually knows how to accomplish America’s national security objectives.

“We have no interest in a protracted conflict. We have no interest in boots on the ground,” he added.

Vance further insisted that the United States is not seeking to topple the Iranian government. “Our view has been very clear that we don’t want a regime change,” he said. “We do not want to protract this or build this out any more than it’s already been built out.”

However, President Trump appeared to leave the door open to regime change in Tehran in a post on Truth Social later in the day. “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??? MIGA!!!” he wrote.

Vance also echoed Trump’s repeated warnings to Tehran against retaliation in any form, calling it “the stupidest thing in the world,” and reaffirming that the US would respond with “overwhelming force” if American personnel were targeted.

Trump has faced criticism from lawmakers over the lack of congressional authorization, but Vance defended the legality of the strike, arguing that the president has the authority to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Moscow has criticized the Iranian WMD claim, drawing comparisons to the justification used by then-US Secretary of State Colin Powell in the lead-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion.

“Many today feel a strong sense of déjà vu,” Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the UN Security Council on Sunday. “The current situation is essentially no different: we are once again being urged to believe in fairy tales in order to once again bring suffering to millions of people living in the Middle East.”