Vance Plays Down Iran Conflict, Says ‘Wouldn’t Call It a War’

(Bloomberg) -- Vice President JD Vance downplayed the scope of the conflict in Iran, which is now in its seventh month, saying he would not describe it as "a war" just days after military strikes intensified in the region.

"I wouldn't call it a war," Vance said Thursday in a press briefing at the White House. "Right now, there is no active shooting."

The comments run the risk of angering a public already frustrated by the war, which has driven up oil and gasoline prices and lowered the president's approval rating ahead of the midterm elections. Democrats are increasingly bullish about their chances in November given public frustration over the conflict and the effect it has had on the cost of living.

"I recognize there have been places where this has flared up," Vance said. "Major combat operations lasted for about six weeks."

Democrats reacted swiftly, with Representative Yassamin Ansari of Arizona calling Vance's comments "profoundly disrespectful to the loved ones of the 18 American service members who've died for Trump's WAR of choice."

Earlier: 'We Are Stalled': US-Iran Conflict Stuck With No End in Sight

Other remarks from the administration could deepen the risk that voters will see the White House attempting to minimize the conflict.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said Iran "was a relatively little war for us." And then on Thursday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he misspoke when he incorrectly stated in a CNBC interview on Wednesday that no American service members had died during the conflict with Iran.

In recent days, tit-for-tat military strikes between the US and Iran have escalated. The latest attacks saw Iran hit merchant vessels, spurring the US to strike Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sites that were used for targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz. That led to Iran firing missiles and drones on US bases in the region, including in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain.

The vice president, speaking during a press briefing in place of former Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, also repeated the administration's claim that Iran's "control over the Strait of Hormuz is effectively gone, and it's a diminishing asset."