Trump administration says Washington’s sole goal in its strikes on Iran is to destroy its nuclear programme.
United States Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have said that the US is not seeking to topple the government in Iran via “regime change” and is not at war with the country in the wake of its unprecedented surprise attack overnight on three of Iran’s nuclear sites.
The comments on Sunday followed Washington, DC joining Israel’s strikes on its arch-foe, which have been met by daily retaliatory strikes from Iran and are now in their 10th day.
Vance said on Sunday that the US had successfully set back Iran’s nuclear programme, adding that US President Donald Trump now hopes to pursue a diplomatic solution.
Speaking on the NBC News show Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, he maintained his country was “not at war with Iran, we’re at war with Iran’s nuclear programme”.
