During the White House’s first press briefing in over 40 days, Vice President JD Vance maintained on Thursday that the United States is not at war with Iran, even as military exchanges continue. Speaking to reporters, Vance asserted, “I wouldn’t call it a war,” adding that “there is no active shooting” at present. This stance comes as the conflict has persisted for more than six months, with both nations trading blows and the Trump administration declining to set an end date for the hostilities.<\/p>\n
The distinction mirrors arguments made by President Trump and Republican leaders at the outset of the fighting, emphasizing that the U.S. is conducting a limited military operation rather than engaging in a prolonged Middle Eastern war that would mandate congressional approval under the Constitution. However, critics argue this separation is increasingly tenuous as American forces continue bombing targets within Iran and Tehran retaliates by attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, driving up global energy costs.<\/p>\n
Vance characterized the recent intensification of hostilities as a “flare-up” but claimed the most intense phase of the American campaign concluded months ago. He noted that Operation Epic Fury, which followed last year’s Operation Midnight Hammer, lasted approximately six weeks. According to Vance, Midnight Hammer destroyed Iranian nuclear facilities, while Epic Fury severely degraded Iran’s conventional military capabilities and its ability to reconstruct its nuclear program.<\/p>\n
When asked if the conflict would conclude before the November midterm elections, Vance declined to commit to a timeline, stating the administration would not provide one while Iran continues threatening global shipping. “You would have to ask the Iranians,” he said. “When will the Iranians stop shooting at ships?”<\/p>\n
The reluctance to use the term “war” follows a historical pattern among U.S. presidents avoiding formal declarations for unauthorized conflicts. Trump explicitly acknowledged the legal weight of the terminology in March, telling House Republicans, “I won’t use the word ‘war’… They don’t like the word ‘war,’ because you’re supposed to get approval.” House Speaker Mike Johnson similarly described the campaign as a “specific, clear mission” rather than an act of war. Democratic lawmakers have attempted to force congressional votes on authorizing continued hostilities, but those efforts have largely failed along party lines, reigniting debates over presidential war powers.<\/p>\n
Regarding economic leverage, Vance argued that Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz is “effectively gone” and that oil traffic is nearing pre-conflict levels, though shipping data indicates volumes remain significantly below previous norms. The administration has prioritized restoring commercial flow as rising energy prices become a political liability ahead of the midterms. Vance acknowledged the burden of higher gasoline prices but contended that costs could have been far worse without U.S. intervention, though he refused to predict when prices might return to approximately $3 per gallon, citing the primary goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n
The administration is pursuing a strategy combining intermittent military force with sustained economic pressure, including a recently announced initiative called “Operation Economic Outcast” to isolate Iran from its trading partners. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that economic pressure will be the primary tool moving forward, while retaining the option for military action if American interests are threatened. However, sanctions aggressive enough to cripple Iranian trade risk confronting major economies such as China, India, and Russia.<\/p>\n
Tensions remain high as Trump has publicly encouraged Iranians to overthrow their government. When pressed on whether the administration is arming dissidents, Vance cited a full spectrum of available tools, including covert pressure, without providing specific details. Meanwhile, civilian casualty concerns have resurfaced after Iranian authorities reported that a U.S. strike hit a wedding celebration in Sirik, killing at least five people. While a New York Times analysis suggested the attack was carried out by American forces, Vance expressed skepticism regarding Iran’s account, stating the incident is under investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
VP Vance stated no active shooting is occurring despite ongoing strikes, continuing the administration’s refusal to classify the six-month confrontation as a formal war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[15,449,78,103,427,128],"class_list":["post-168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-iran","tag-jd-vance","tag-magazine","tag-middle-east-conflict","tag-trump-administration","tag-us-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}