NBC’s Kristen Welker Asks JD Vance Point Blank: Is the US at ‘War With Iran?’

NBC’s Kristen Welker wasted no time.

Speaking with Vice President JD Vance Sunday on Meet the Press, Welker asked the big question right out of the box.

“My first question, Mr. Vice President, is the United States now at war with Iran?” Welker asked.

“No, Kristen, we’re not at war with Iran,” Vance replied. “We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program.”

Vance quickly pivoted away from Welker’s question — instead praising the military for Saturday night’s strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.

“We’re incredibly grateful and proud of the American Air Force pilots who did an incredible job last night,” Vance said. “The operation was really extraordinary. These guys flew from Missouri. They didn’t land a single time. They dropped 30,000 pound bombs on a target the size of a washing machine and then got back home safely without ever landing in the Middle East or ever stopping other than to briefly refuel. And, of course, they did that in the air. So, it’s really an incredible operation, a testament to the power of American military. And I think that shows what can happen when you have that great American military in the hands of capable presidential leadership.”

Vance added, “What we did is we destroyed the Iranian nuclear program. I think we set that program back substantially.”

Welker, though, revisited the topic later in the interview.

“Mr. Vice President, can you rule out that getting involved in this conflict won’t eventually lead to U.S. boots on the ground?” Welker asked.

Vance tried to downplay fears that the U.S. has now entered a “protracted conflict.”

“Well, the president’s been very clear, Kristen,” Vance said. “We have no interest in a protracted conflict. We have no interest in boots on the ground. The president has actually been one of the fiercest critics of 25 years of failed foreign policy in the Middle East, which is why he did what he did: a very precise, a very surgical strike tailored to an American national interest. And that national interest is Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. It would be a disaster for us and for our allies in the region. So I don’t fear that this is going to become a protracted conflict because I think that we have a president who knows what’s in America’s interest and is willing to do the things necessary to accomplish that interest.”

Watch above, via NBC.