US Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday signaled Donald Trump may choose to strike Iran to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
“He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment,” Vance wrote in a lengthy post on X. “That decision ultimately belongs to the president.”
The president later said, “Our patience is wearing thin” on Iran, and called for “unconditional surrender.”
The specter of a US strike on Iran has intensified since Israel began its barrage last week; the US is believed to possess the bunker-busting weapons capable of destroying Iranian enrichment facilities buried deep underground.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that the US will make a decision on getting involved in Israel’s military campaign in the “near future” if Tehran doesn’t resume nuclear talks, while British premier Keir Starmer said Trump has said nothing to suggest he is preparing to strike Iran.
Trump has remained vague on possible American involvement; stepping in could exacerbate a conservative schism, as some hard-right members of his MAGA coalition oppose US military intervention.