Former US Vice President Mike Pence issued a stark warning during an interview Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union with Dana Bash as Israel detected more missile launches from Iran.
“Iran will never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon,” Pence said, when asked by Bash about the ongoing tit-for-tat attacks between the two nations. “And witnessing in the skies just moments ago, you can see the reason why,” Pence continued.
Pence went on to elaborate on the broader dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran and reiterated a hardline stance against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“Remember, those missiles that Iran has developed over the years can reach Europe, today. They’ve been working on intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the United States, and Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism,” the former vice president said.
“It threatens our allies, threatens people of the United States,” he added.
“During our administration, we made that clear. I’m grateful for President Trump’s strong statements of support for Israel and its action,” Pence said reflecting on his time in office, emphasizing the Trump administration’s firm position on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“I want to say emphatically that if the world knows nothing else, the world should know this, America stands with Israel,” Pence said.
But the former vice president also offered a warning to both the current administration and his former boss, after Bash pressed him on Trump’s recent comments on his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Vladimir Putin continues his brutal and unprovoked invasion in Ukraine using drones provided by Iran, I would say respectfully to the administration. We ought to be looking elsewhere than Vladimir Putin for advice on how to deal with this situation,” Pence said.
The US and Russian presidents held an hourlong phone call on Saturday, Trump confirmed in a social media post, adding that the leaders spoke about Iran and Israel’s tit-for-tat airstrikes “at length,” and called for an end to the conflict.
