Iran now incapable of building nuclear weapon, JD Vance says

US Vice President JD Vance (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

Iran will no longer be able to build a nuclear weapon as American strikes have destroyed its infrastructure, US Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday.

"Iran was very close to having a nuclear weapon. Now Iran is incapable of building a nuclear weapon with the equipment they have because we destroyed it," he said in an interview on Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier."

Vance's remarks came moments after US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a "complete and total ceasefire."

As part of Operation Midnight Hammer, US on Saturday evening struck Iran's Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. It dropped 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators against two target areas, Fordow and Natanz. Located about 100 kilometers southwest of Tehran, Fordow is buried deep within a mountain — up to 300 feet underground — and is designed to be shielded from conventional airstrikes.

According to Fox News, Vance said that US will work to make sure Iran doesn't try to rebuild its nuclear capability in the future. "Look, this is a great thing. For Israel, think about this: they've accomplished an important military objective. They've helped us destroy the Iranian nuclear program. They've also destroyed the conventional missile capability of Iran that threatened the country of Israel. For the Iranians, I think this is a new opportunity to actually pursue the path of peace. As I said yesterday, what the Iranians have showed through their support of terror networks, through their now failed effort to build a nuclear weapon, is that they're just not very good at war," he said.

"And I think the president really hit the reset button and said, look, let's actually produce long-term peace for the region. That's always been his goal. I actually think when we look back, we will say the 12-day war was an important reset moment for the entire region," Vance added.

Earlier today, Trump took to Truth Social and announced that Israel and Iran agreed to a "complete and total ceasefire". "Congratulations to everyone! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a complete and total ceasefire (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the war will be considered, ENDED!," he posted.

(With inputs from agencies)