JD Vance rejects war label as US-Iran conflict drags into midterm season

JD Vance said the six-month US conflict with Iran should not be called a war and refused to predict when it would end. His comments highlighted the administration's effort to contain political fallout as oil prices stay elevated and shipping data is disputed.Image used for representational purposes onlyUS Vice President JD Vance on Thursday rejected the use of the word "war" for the six-month-old US conflict with Iran, while avoiding any prediction on whether the fighting would end before the November 3 midterm elections, when Republicans are trying to retain their narrow majorities in Congress.Speaking at a White House press briefing, Vance said, "I wouldn't call it a war," and added, "Right now, there is no active shooting." His remarks came even as Iran fired at Kuwait, a US ally in the Gulf, as it continued to retaliate for rounds of US strikes on Iran earlier this week.Vance said the US had a "responsibility" to carry out this week's strikes because Iran continues to target commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. He also said he did not want to set "artificial timelines" for an end to the conflict. "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."Vance's effort to play down the intensity of the conflict comes as President Donald Trump and his administration try to convince voters to keep Republicans in control of Congress, even though the conflict has pushed up petrol prices and added to inflation. The White House had said at the outset that the fighting would last only a matter of weeks. The administration also faced scrutiny in July after it reclassified four fallen soldiers and dozens of wounded troops in its Defence Casualty Analysis System, which Pentagon officials have repeatedly described as the definitive record of those killed and wounded in the conflict. Those killed or wounded after a brief ceasefire between the US and Iran collapsed were moved into a new category called "Overseas Operations" after initially being counted in the war totals.On the economic front, Brent crude remained above USD 95 a barrel on Thursday, compared with about USD 72 a barrel the day before the conflict began. Even so, Trump and his aides have maintained that the US Navy is in control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 per cent of the world's oil had flowed before the conflict started, and have insisted that Gulf oil exports are nearing pre-war levels. Vance said the US escorted about 15 million barrels of oil on Wednesday, after Energy Secretary Chris Wright said 17 million barrels moved through the strait on Monday with US Navy assistance. Before the conflict, about 20 million barrels of Gulf oil flowed through the strait. Independent trackers, however, have reported lower traffic. Lloyd's List Intelligence said there were 102 transits last week and 126 the week before, against 130 or more a day before the conflict. TankerTrackers.com said that, over the past 28 days, an average of 5 million barrels a day exited the strait, while other recent estimates ranged from 2 million to 6 million barrels a day.Throughout the conflict, Trump has repeatedly spoken of progress in negotiations or pulled back from threatened military action when global markets turned volatile, and markets have reacted quickly to those signals. "The administration is still jawboning oil markets," Rosemary Kelanic, Middle East director at Defense Priorities, said of the administration's claims of sharply higher oil flows. "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 refusing to back down, Trump has adopted a two-pronged approach of economic pressure and threats of further force if needed. He has repeatedly said the US-Israeli campaign has badly damaged Iran's navy and air force, while Iranian officials have said the country has suffered USD 270 billion in direct and indirect damage. Israeli strikes in the first weeks of the conflict also wiped out much of Iran's leadership structure, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Even so, Iran has retained leverage through strikes on the strait and on US Gulf allies. The administration has tried to argue that the waterway will become less important over time. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week that the Strait of Hormuz would become a "worthless piece of water" within two years as new land pipelines bypass the chokepoint. On Thursday, Trump highlighted a report on Syria's effort to turn the Mediterranean port of Baniyas into a westward route to global markets for Gulf exporters. At the same time, Iran and Oman have recently held talks on a phased approach to jointly manage ship traffic through the strait.Analysts said Trump appears to be in a holding pattern before the midterms. The administration says it is making progress in economically weakening Iranian hardliners, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but analysts said it would be a major step for Trump to support any plan that lets Iran claim control of the strait. "I find it hard to believe the president would agree to anything that hands back any modicum of IRGC control over the strait that has been wrested away," said Richard Goldberg, who served as a senior adviser on Iran policy in Trump's first administration. Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said Iran does not appear ready to "let Trump out of the box" despite the damage to its economy. He added that Trump seems to be avoiding both a return to full-scale bombardment and any major accommodation with Tehran. "The White House doesn't want a massive war, and they don't want to be seen as offering massive concessions," Miller said. "The tack they are taking avoids both of those things."In sum, Vance's remarks underscored the administration's attempt to contain the political and economic costs of the conflict while insisting it is protecting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, even as oil prices stay high, independent shipping data raises questions over official claims, and there is no clear timeline for an end to the fighting.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 4, 2026 06:22 IST