‘I Wouldn’t Call It a War’ — Vance Speaks on Six-Month Iran Conflict

US Vice President JD Vance has rejected the description of the ongoing confrontation with Iran as a war, saying there is currently no active shooting despite renewed clashes between the two sides.

Vance spoke on Thursday as President Donald Trump’s administration appeared increasingly focused on drawing a line under the six-month conflict.

Asked at a White House briefing whether the conflict would be concluded before the November US midterm elections, Vance said: “I wouldn’t call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting.”

The Vice President acknowledged that fighting had flared up in certain locations but argued that the main combat operations following the US-Israel war’s February 28 start lasted approximately six weeks.

“But when you ask when will this end, you’re asking me a question like when will the Iranians stop shooting at ships? I think the reality is I don’t know the answer to that question. You would have to ask the Iranians,” Vance said.

The comments came after a period of calm was disrupted by fresh clashes following US raids on Sunday.

The renewed fighting has further complicated efforts to resolve the conflict, with Iran continuing to exert pressure on shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Vance said Washington would not return to negotiations with Tehran unless Iran stopped attacking commercial vessels.

The Trump administration has nevertheless begun stressing that the flow of oil and gas through the Strait is recovering to levels seen before the conflict, at a time when rising fuel prices threaten to become a political liability for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.

Vance said Iran’s effective control of the waterway had disappeared.

“Their control over the Strait of Hormuz is effectively gone,” he said.

“If you go back three months ago, how much oil and gas was coming out of the strait under Iranian threats? It was virtually nothing. Now, it’s almost back to where it was before the conflict even started,” Vance said.

The conflict has created a major political challenge for Trump, whose approval ratings are close to record lows after previously pledging to keep the United States out of additional foreign wars.

Since February, 18 US troops and thousands of people in Iran and Lebanon have reportedly been killed in the conflict.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had been discussing with senior aides whether to declare the Iran war officially over. The President also posted a photograph of a “Mission Accomplished” banner last week.

Iran claims retaliation for wedding strike

Iran launched fresh attacks on Thursday, claiming it had struck US military bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Tehran said the attacks were retaliation for a missile strike on a wedding in Iran, which it blamed on Washington.

Vance confirmed that US authorities were investigating the incident but questioned the credibility of Iran’s account.

“I know that we’re investigating,” he said.

“I will say that the Iranian state media has not been a very good scribe about what’s happened in the conflict thus far. So I’m extremely skeptical of this.”

The Iranian Red Crescent reported that the missile attack on a wedding in the coastal town of Kuhestak killed four people late Tuesday, including a child, while more than 50 others were wounded.

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