The morning after the United States launched a surprise air campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, top American officials hailed the mission as a decisive success — and delivered stern warnings to Tehran against further escalation.

Vice President J.D. Vance praised the operation, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, declaring: “We destroyed the Iranian nuclear program… and we did it without endangering the lives of American pilots. That’s an incredible thing.”

Vance emphasized that the mission was not a prelude to war but rather a bold act of prevention. “We do not want war with Iran. We actually want peace — but we want peace in the context of them not having a nuclear weapons program. And that’s exactly what the President accomplished last night.”

In unusually blunt language, Vance added, “We’re prepared in the event that the Iranians do retaliate, but… if the Iranians want to enlarge this by attacking American troops, I think that would be a catastrophic mistake.”

Despite growing speculation, Vance insisted that “we don’t want to achieve regime change, we want to achieve the end of the Iranian nuclear program.”

Asked whether potential Iranian disruptions to oil shipping in the Strait of Hormuz would trigger another U.S. response, Vance replied, “If they want to destroy their own economy and cause disruptions in the world, that would be their decision. But why would they do that?”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed the warnings, saying, “If Iran retaliates, it’ll be the worst mistake they ever made.” He added that the U.S. now has the ability to “fly in and out of Iran at will,” thanks to the Israeli Air Force’s relentless nine-day bombardment of Iranian air defenses, involving over 1,200 precision strikes.

Rubio said Iran had miscalculated. “They thought they could do with President Trump what they’ve done with presidents in the past and get away with it — and they found out last night that they can’t. This is a president who tells you what he’s going to do, and then he does it.”

Rubio added: “Why does Hamas exist? Because of Iran… Who built the IEDs that maimed and killed American soldiers in Iraq? Iran. They’re behind every problem in this region… Imagine those people having a nuclear weapon… That is unacceptable.”

In Israel, President Yitzchak Herzog pushed back against accusations that Israel was driving the U.S. toward broader conflict. “We’re not dragging America into a war,” Herzog said in an interview with CNN. “This was a joint effort to eliminate an existential threat. As for regime change — that’s not any of the official goals of this war. But it would be a very blessed side effect.”

Herzog acknowledged that while Iran’s nuclear program may not be fully dismantled, “it’s been hit very hard — both by the Israeli attacks and absolutely by the American attacks overnight.”

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton weighed in, suggesting that the shock of the coordinated U.S.-Israeli assault may push the Iranian regime to the brink. “We’re on the verge of potentially seeing regime change in Iran,” Bolton said. “I think Trump made the right decision for America.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)