Operation Epic Fury launched after Iran nuclear talks collapse, Vance says

Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed Monday that talks with Iran over its nuclear program collapsed after U.S. officials concluded Tehran’s claims “failed the smell test,” leading President Donald Trump to authorize Operation Epic Rage.

Speaking on the “Jesse Watters Primetime” program, Vance said that US ambassadors, including Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Jared Kushner, held “deliberate” meetings with the Iranian delegation in Geneva.

He said the discussions were aimed at halting Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief and preventing a wider conflict, but ultimately failed.

“But the Iranians would come back to us and say, ‘You know, it’s a matter of national pride to have enrichment for civilian purposes, for energy purposes,'” Vance said. he said.

“And we say, ‘Okay, that’s interesting, but why are you building your enrichment facilities 70 feet underground? And why are you enriching to a level that’s so far beyond civilian enrichment that it’s only useful if your goal is to make a nuclear bomb?'” he said.

“Nobody objects to the Iranians being able to produce medical isotopes; the only objection is to these enrichment facilities that are useful in making nuclear weapons,” Vance explained.

“Trying to say you want enrichment for medical isotopes while also building a facility 70 to 80 feet underground doesn’t pass the smell test,” he explained.

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This image, taken from video provided by U.S. Central Command, shows a missile launched from a U.S. Navy ship in support of Operation Epic Fury on Saturday, February 28, 2026. (U.S. Central Command via AP)

Vance spoke about the conclusion of the third day of Operation Epic Fury. Launched on February 28, US and Israeli forces carried out coordinated precision strikes deep into Iran, aimed at crippling Tehran’s missile arsenal and nuclear infrastructure.

A major problem was that Iran had enriched uranium to high levels, including material of around 60% purity (some weapons-grade but well above the limits set under the 2015 nuclear deal), which would keep international alarm high about the risks of nuclear weapons proliferation.

“During President Trump’s term in office, we have destroyed Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons,” Vance told Watters. “We pulled them back significantly. But I think the President was looking for a long-term path,” he said.

“Trump wanted Iran to make a significant long-term commitment that it would never build a nuclear weapon and maintain the ability to approach the brink of a nuclear weapon.”

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Vice President J.D. Vance speaks with Breitbart News Washington bureau chief Matthew Boyle at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington on November 20, 2025. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)

“He wanted to make sure that Iran could never acquire nuclear weapons, and that would require a fundamental change in the mindset of the Iranian regime.”

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“The President will not rest until we achieve the very important goal of ensuring that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon for the next few years, and not just because we destroy it for money or something else.”

While Vance explained that the administration would prefer to see “in Iran a friendly regime, a stable country, a country willing to work with the United States,” he added, “There is no way Donald Trump is going to allow this country to engage in a multi-year conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear goal.”

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