Photo: Alamy
Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that the United States has no plans to launch a ground invasion of Iran, emphasizing that any change in the country’s government must come from the Iranian people rather than the U.S. military.
Speaking on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Vance said the Trump administration is focused on protecting American interests rather than pursuing regime change through military occupation.
“If the Iranian people want to rise up and change their government, that’s up to them,” Vance said. “But we’re not going to send 150,000 ground troops in order to accomplish a change in a regime. We’re not in that business anymore. We’re just not.”
Vance said the administration’s immediate priorities are keeping the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial shipping, protecting global energy supplies and preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
The vice president also warned against a faction within the Republican Party that he claims wants to stop a deal to end the war with Iran.
“There are people who are super hawkish in the American system who have attacked the deal and, frankly, in some ways have tried to derail the deal. And what I always say to those people is, ‘What is your proposal? What is your actual argument?’” he said.
His comments came as fighting between the United States and Iran intensified following the collapse of a ceasefire reached last month.
According to U.S. officials, the ceasefire ended after Iran attacked a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping route that carries a significant share of the world’s oil and natural gas exports.
Earlier Wednesday, the United States launched two rounds of strikes targeting Iranian military assets. U.S. officials said the operations were intended to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz following a series of attacks and threats against international shipping.
