United States Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have stated that the US will not be in search of to topple the federal government in Iran through “regime change” and isn’t at struggle with the nation within the wake of its unprecedented shock assault in a single day on three of Iran’s nuclear websites.
The feedback on Sunday adopted Washington, DC becoming a member of Israel’s strikes on its arch-foe, which have been met by each day retaliatory strikes from Iran and are actually of their tenth day.
Vance stated on Sunday that the US had efficiently set again Iran’s nuclear programme, including that US President Donald Trump now hopes to pursue a diplomatic answer.
Talking on the NBC Information present Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, he maintained his nation was “not at struggle with Iran, we’re at struggle with Iran’s nuclear programme”.
“We don’t need to protract this or construct this out any greater than it’s already been constructed out. We need to finish their nuclear programme,” Vance stated, including: “We need to discuss to the Iranians a couple of long-term settlement right here.”
In the meantime, Hegseth claimed the sequence of US strikes in opposition to Iran “devastated” its nuclear programme, as he asserted Washington was not in search of “regime change” in Tehran.
There was no unbiased affirmation of how closely the US strikes impacted the websites, or Tehran’s nuclear efforts, which it has repeatedly stated are for civilian functions solely.
The Pentagon chief urged Iran’s leaders to seek out an off-ramp to the battle after Trump introduced the strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment website at Fordow, together with nuclear amenities in Isfahan and Natanz.
Hegseth advised a Pentagon press briefing that the operation “didn’t goal Iranian troops or the Iranian folks”.
“I can solely verify that there are each private and non-private messages being delivered to the Iranians in a number of channels, giving them each alternative to come back to the desk,” Hegseth added within the information convention with Basic Dan Caine, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Workers.
“This mission was not, and has not, been about regime change,” he stated.
Iran’s Overseas Minister Abbas Araghchi stated earlier that the US strikes on his nation have blown up any risk of diplomacy and strongly intimated a response was in gestation.
Throughout an tackle to a gathering of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Sunday, Araghchi stated the US crossed “a really large crimson line” by attacking Iran’s nuclear amenities.
Trump’s intervention – regardless of his previous pledges to keep away from one other “perpetually struggle” – threatens to dramatically widen the battle after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing marketing campaign in opposition to Iran final week, with Tehran vowing to retaliate if Washington joined in.
The US and Iran had been engaged in a number of rounds of nuclear talks brokered by Oman earlier than Israel launched a strike on Iran, unconditionally supported by the US, earlier this month.
‘Bombers took off from US’
Standing alongside Hegseth, Caine stated that an evaluation of the destruction sustained at Iran’s nuclear amenities will take time to verify.
“I believe PDA [preliminary damage assessment] remains to be pending and it might be manner too early for me to touch upon what or what might not nonetheless be there,” he stated. He confirmed B-2 bombers have been launched from the US on Friday for an 18-hour flight to their targets for the “strike package deal”.
“Operation Midnight Hammer” included a number of “deception and decoy” manoeuvres. Excessive-speed suppression fireplace was used to guard the B-2s, and Caine stated there’s no indication “any pictures have been fired” by Iranian defences.
“Iran’s fighters didn’t fly and it seems Iran’s missile techniques didn’t see us,” Caine stated.
He declined to touch upon particular strikes taken to guard US troops primarily based within the Center East from potential Iranian retaliation.
“Our joint drive stays able to defend the US – our troops and our pursuits within the area,” stated Caine.
Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, stated Hegseth gave a really clear message on behalf of the US that this isn’t an open-ended operation, though there was a warning that whereas it’s deliberately restricted, the capabilities of the US navy are usually not.
“What is evident is that this was a well-coordinated operation,” Fisher stated.
“However as we heard from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers, they clearly nonetheless must get full intelligence from the positioning, and this can take a while,” Fisher stated. “So that they don’t know whether or not it has been an enormous success. However what it does do is ship an actual message.”
Individually, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio advised CBS there have been no deliberate navy operations in opposition to Iran in the meanwhile.
‘No fatalities’ in Iranian websites
Trump introduced that the US forces struck three Iranian nuclear websites in a “very profitable assault” in a single day into Sunday.
“We’ve accomplished our very profitable assault on the three Nuclear websites in Iran, together with Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan,” Trump posted on Fact Social.
Trump’s choice to hitch Israel’s navy marketing campaign in opposition to Iran has escalated an already intensive battle and threatens a possible all-out regional struggle.
The top of Iran’s Purple Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, stated there have been no fatalities within the US strikes on the nuclear amenities, based on Iranian state tv.
An Iranian well being ministry spokesperson cited by state media stated none of these injured within the US assaults and despatched to hospitals had radiation contamination.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian took half in a protest in Tehran on Sunday denouncing US strikes on Iranian nuclear amenities, based on photographs broadcast on state TV.
“Revenge, revenge!” protesters shouted with their fists raised, because the president was seen making his manner via the gang gathered in a sq. in central Tehran.
Trump has stepped up his rhetoric in opposition to Iran since Israel first struck Iran on June 13, repeating his insistence that it might by no means have nuclear weapons. He appeared to be unsure of whether or not to maneuver militarily, however Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to have been one of many key voices he was attuned to.
Talking to Al Jazeera, Scott Lucas, a professor of US and worldwide politics at College School Dublin, stated the rationale Trump determined to strike Iran after showing to go for diplomacy till not too long ago was “As a result of Donald Trump received performed by the Israelis; some may say manipulated.”
