The White House denied Tuesday that remarks by Vice President JD Vance about military operations in Iran had contained any suggestion of a US nuclear strike against the Islamic republic.
After Vance said US forces have tools they “so far haven’t decided to use” to enforce a dramatic ultimatum from President Donald Trump, the White House said on X: “Literally nothing @VP said here ‘implies’ this, you absolute buffoons.”
The post was in response to one from an account associated with former vice president Kamala Harris that said Vance implied Trump “might use nuclear weapons.”
‘Whole civilisation will die’ in Iran if ultimatum expires, Trump warns
President Donald Trump warned that “a whole civilisation will die” in Iran on Tuesday if the country does not heed his ultimatum to accept US war demands.
The wildly provocative statement — the latest in a recent torrent of strident language by Trump — prompted swift and severe criticism, with one of his former close allies calling for his removal from office.
Vice President JD Vance offered his own threatening assessment of what may follow, warning Tehran that US forces have tools they “so far haven’t decided to use” against the Islamic Republic.
Since February 28, the United States and its ally Israel have levelled Iranian military targets, killed the country’s top leadership and devastated parts of its infrastructure.
Early Tuesday, Trump issued one of his most glaring threats of war.
“A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump did not give details, but he has already said the US military could bomb Iran’s bridges, power plants and other civilian infrastructure into the “stone age.”Trump has announced a deadline of midnight GMT Tuesday for Iran to end its de facto closing of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow, strategic waterway used to transport oil and other commodities.
On Monday, he said a temporary ceasefire proposal being circulated was insufficient.
Iran has rejected US pressure, with state media reporting that authorities are insisting that instead of a ceasefire, it wants a full end to the war.
– ‘Sick beyond measure’ –
On Truth Social, Trump left the door open for a last-hour agreement.
“Now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalised minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight,” he wrote.Trump said Monday that starting in Washington late Tuesday evening, US forces would destroy “every bridge in Iran” and cripple “every power plant” — something many experts say would be a blatant war crime.
