Defending Trump’s remark, Vance says Iran needs missiles for ‘self-defense,’ like Israel

US Vice President JD Vance defends President Donald Trump’s assertion that Iran be allowed to keep some of its ballistic missiles, arguing that it needs them for “self-defense,” just as Israel has a right to self-defense.

Vance is asked at a White House press conference to explain Trump’s apparent shift on that issue, given that the US has previously framed destruction of Iran’s missile program as a key war aim.

The vice president begins by noting that the US destroyed “a substantial number” of Iran’s missiles and launchers during the recent war

“All the president said yesterday is that, of course, regional countries don’t give up the right of self-defense,” Vance says.

“Israel doesn’t give up the right of self-defense if Hezbollah fires rockets or drones at Israel,” he continues. “You can’t tell the country, whether Israel or Iran, they’re not allowed to have any self-defense.”

He clarifies that the final deal that the US hopes will be reached in the coming two months will see Iran agree not to “build the kind of missiles that can broadly threaten the entire world.”

“As part of the final deal, what we want to see is Iran not funding regional instability, funding regional terrorism, and of course, [not] trying to rebuild their nuclear weapons program.”