Washington DC : As escalations widen across West Asia, US Vice-President JD Vance on Tuesday (local time) said President Donald Trump decided to take action against Iran in order to protect America's national security.
He made the remarks in an interview with Fox News. Vance said that Trump had determined to ensure America remains safe not only for a few years during his tenure as the President, but to ensure that Iran could never' to have a nuclear weapon.
He said, "What the president determined is he didn't want to just keep the country safe from an Iranian nuclear weapon for the first three, four years of his second term. He wanted to make sure that Iran could never have a nuclear weapon, and that would require fundamentally a change in mindset from the Iranian regime."
Vance further told Fox News, "So he saw that the Iranian regime was weakened, he knew that they were committed to getting on that brink of a nuclear weapon, and he decided to take action because he felt that was necessary in order to protect the nation's security."
In a video message on Monday to the Joint Force, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called it a "generational turning point America has waited for since 1979". He urged them to stay determined and re-iterated Trump administration's slogan--peace through strength.
He added, "We will finish this on America-first conditions of President Trump's choosing. Nobody else's. As it should be. And know this above all: President Trump and I have your back, always. Through fire, through criticism, through fake news, through everything. We unleash you because you are the best, most powerful, most lethal fighting force the world has ever seen".
As developments follow in wake of the tensions in West Asia, Israeli Ambassador to US, Danny Danon met US First Lady Melania Trump ahead of the UN Security Council session and underlined that the alliance between Israel and the United States stands firm.
Also on Monday in a post on Truth Social, Trump attacked the "radical left" for their response to the American strikes. In the post he said, "The Radical Left Democrats, a Party that has completely lost its way, are complaining bitterly about the very necessary and important attack, by the United States and Israel, on Iran. What most people understand is that they are only complaining BECAUSE I DID IT and, if I didn't do it, they would be screaming -- Why didn't "TRUMP" attack Iran, he should do it, IMMEDIATELY? There's nothing surprising about this!"
A full-scale conflict erupted in West Asia involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, following a major "military offensive" launched on February 28. In a coordinated operation known as Operation Epic Fury/Roaring Lion, US and Israeli forces carried out large-scale air and missile strikes across Iran, targeting key military sites, nuclear-related infrastructure, and leadership compounds.
In response, Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, further widening the conflict and heightening risks for civilians and expatriates alike.
World leaders and international bodies are currently urging de-escalation as the risk of a wider regional conflict grows, though fighting continues without a clear end in sight.