Vice President JD Vance struggled to answer pointed questions about the Trump administration's tentative peace deal with Iran during a tense appearance Friday on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher,” particularly when asked about the supposed destruction of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, Mediaite reported Saturday.
Maher pressed Vance on what the administration had actually achieved, noting that a central demand going into negotiations was sending inspectors into Iranian facilities, something that has yet to happen.
"We've got to get in there and we've got to get the dust," Maher said, referring to past comments from President Donald Trump. "And we didn't get in, so how do we get the dust?"
Vance attempted to draw a distinction between Iran's ability to enrich uranium – which he claimed had been destroyed – and its existing stockpile of highly enriched material, which he acknowledged the United States has not secured.
"If we never get it... it's buried deep underground and they don't have the ability to turn it into a nuclear weapon," Vance said. "So the program is functionally destroyed."
Maher continued pressing.
"How do we know that?" he shot back.
“Well, because you need functioning centrifuges that can actually spin,” Vance responded.
Maher pressed him again.
“But what was all the talk about, we’ve got to get in there and we’ve gotta get the dust?” Maher said. “We didn’t get in, so how do we get the dust?”
Vance repeated his previous assertion that Iran’s supply of highly enriched material was inaccessible, an answer that didn’t appear to satisfy Maher, who promptly shifted to another topic.