Vance Says US Sees Evidence Iran Is Trying to Pursue a Nuclear Weapon

As a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has said it has a right to pursue a civilian nuclear program, but denies seeking a weapon.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in Tehran on July 5, 2024. Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Vice President JD Vance said on Feb. 25 that the Trump administration has seen evidence that Iran is trying to rebuild its nuclear program and pursue a warhead after the June 2025 U.S. strikes on three of its nuclear sites.

“[Trump] is sending two of his best negotiators to Geneva tomorrow in order to continue to try to strike the best deal possible for the American people. But the principle is very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Vance told reporters. “If they try to rebuild a nuclear weapon, that causes problems for us. And in fact, we’ve seen evidence that they have tried to do exactly that.”