Vance says Iran fight isn’t a ‘war’ as Trump tries to navigate unpopular conflict as election nears
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Vice President JD Vance on Thursday rejected the use of the word "war" to describe the U.S. fighting with Iran as he steered clear of predicting that the 6-month-old conflict would be over by November's midterm elections, in which Republicans are trying to hang on to their narrow majorities in Congress.
"I wouldn't call it a war," Vance said after being asked during a White House press briefing about whether the fighting could end before voters cast their ballots in the Nov. 3 congressional elections. "Right now, there is no active shooting."
Vance's assertion came even as Iran fired at U.S. Gulf ally Kuwait on Thursday as it continued to retaliate for rounds of U.S. strikes on Iran earlier in the week.
The vice president said the U.S. had a "responsibility" to carry out this week's strikes because Iran continued to target commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Vance's attempt to minimize the intensity of the fighting illuminates the difficult task at hand for Trump and his administration as he tries to persuade American voters to keep Republicans in control of Congress, even as the unpopular conflict -- one the White House said at its outset would last a matter of weeks -- has driven up gas prices and left consumers grappling with higher inflation.
Vance said he didn't want to set "artificial timelines."
"But when you ask, 'When will this end?' You're asking me a question like, 'When will the Iranians stop shooting at ships?'" Vance said. "I think the reality is, I don't know the answer to that question. You would have to ask the Iranians."
The administration in July faced scrutiny after it reclassified four fallen soldiers as well as dozens of wounded troops in its Defense Casualty Analysis System, which Pentagon officials have repeatedly pointed to as the definitive source on the numbers of dead and wounded from the conflict. Those killed or wounded in fighting after a brief ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran fell apart were classified in a new category called "Overseas Operations" after initially being tallied in the totals from the war.
White House insists more oil is getting out of Gulf, but prices remain high
Brent crude prices hovered above $95 per barrel Thursday. The international benchmark was around $72 per barrel the day before the conflict began.
Still, Trump and his aides have sought to push that the U.S. Navy is in control of the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20% of the world's traded oil passed before the war. They insist a near prewar level of Gulf oil is now making its way out of the critical waterway.
Vance at Thursday's press briefing said the U.S. escorted about 15 million barrels of oil on Wednesday. This was after Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Wednesday that 17 million barrels were carried through the strait on Monday with assistance from the U.S. Navy. About 20 million barrels of Gulf oil flowed through the strait prior to the start of the war.
But ship traffic through the strait remains well below prewar levels, according to independent firms that track marine traffic.
There were 102 transits last week and 126 the week before, according to shipping data company Lloyd's List Intelligence, compared with 130 or more per day before the war.
Over the past 28 days, 5 million barrels a day have exited the strait on average, according to TankerTrackers.com. Other recent estimates have varied from 2 million barrels per day to 6 million barrels per day.
Over the course of the war, Trump has repeatedly reported progress in negotiations or called off threats of military action at the last moment when global markets have become jittery. And markets have reacted swiftly to his public signals of peace or hints of progress.
"The administration is still jawboning oil markets," said Rosemary Kelanic, Middle East director at Defense Priorities, of the administration's claims of dramatically increased flows of oil. "And they appear to be doing it again to keep prices from going too high, so that they can extend the timeline before there's a worse price spike."
With Iran's refusal to back down in the face of the U.S. military campaign, Trump has settled on a dual-prong approach that combines economic pressure with threats of an escalation in force, if necessary.