Pence: Iran War Is ‘Finishing A 50-Year Conflict’

Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence says the military campaign against Iran should be seen not as the start of a new war but the culmination of nearly five decades of confrontation between Washington and Tehran.

Speaking on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday,” Pence defended the strikes launched by Donald Trump under Operation Epic Fury, arguing the campaign is aimed at ending a long-running conflict with Iran’s ruling regime.

“This isn’t about starting a war,” Pence said. “It’s about finishing a war that’s nearly 50 years in the making.”

Roots in the 1979 hostage crisis

Pence traced the origins of the confrontation back to the Iran Hostage Crisis, when Iranian students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held more than 50 Americans captive for 444 days.

The hostage crisis followed the Iranian Revolution, which toppled the country’s monarchy and brought the Islamic Republic to power.

Since then, Pence said, successive U.S. administrations have tried to counter what he described as Iran’s network of regional proxies and militant groups targeting American forces and allies — particularly Israel.

Leadership crisis in Tehran

The current war intensified after Iran’s longtime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was reportedly killed in the opening phase of U.S.–Israeli strikes on February 28.

His son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, is believed to have been wounded in subsequent attacks, according to U.S. officials including Vice President J. D. Vance.

The leadership turmoil, Pence argued, could weaken the ruling regime and create conditions for internal political change.

Opening for regime change?

Pence suggested that sustained strikes on Iran’s military infrastructure and security forces could allow anti-government protests inside the country to re-emerge.

Earlier this year, large demonstrations against the regime were violently suppressed, with thousands reportedly killed.

“If their military and internal security are degraded,” Pence said, “the people of Iran could step forward and reclaim their country.”

Message to global rivals

Beyond Iran, Pence said the conflict sends a broader geopolitical signal.

Reasserting U.S. military power in the Middle East after the withdrawal from Afghanistan would demonstrate to rivals such as China and Russia that Washington remains the leader of the Western alliance.

According to Pence, the campaign represents both a strategic confrontation with Tehran and a broader test of American leadership on the global stage.

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"Finishing"! Yeah, right, Mikey.

The roots start in 1953. And y'all are far from finishing anything 😂