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Vice President JD Vance said he does not consider the situation in Iran “a war”
Trump has previously called it the “Iran war” on multiple occasions
Public support for the conflict has declined, with polls showing growing disapproval ahead of the November elections
Vice President JD Vance isn’t calling the Iran-U.S. conflict a “war,” despite Donald Trump having done so in the past.
Vance, 42, made the comments during a White House press briefing on Thursday, Sept. 3 while being asked about whether the fighting between the two countries would end before the congressional midterm elections in November.
“I wouldn’t call it a war,” Vance said, according to the Associated Press and CBS News, before adding, “Right now, there is no active shooting. I recognize there have been places where this has flared up.”
He also noted during the briefing that active combat operations ended after about six weeks.
“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,” the vice president continued.
Donald Trump and JD Vance at the White House in March 2026.
Credit: ANNABELLE GORDON / AFP via Getty
Vance’s comments come after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire for several days around the Strait of Hormuz, according to CNN. On Tuesday, the U.S. conducted an operation, hitting nearly 60 military targets around the strait, the outlet reported.
Iran has also responded by firing at U.S. ally Kuwait on Wednesday after Iranian state media claimed that the attack included a deadly strike on a wedding party, per AP.
The conflict between the U.S. and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow waterway across which approximately 20% of the world’s oil supply travels through — has led to Iran frequently closing the strait or impeding traffic causing oil and gas prices to increase in recent months.
On Wednesday, Sept. 2, the country “blacklisted” more than 40 oil transport vessels, a move that is “likely to further constrain efforts to export oil via the strait,” Reuters reported.
Vance noted in his Thursday briefing that the U.S. was still able to escort about 15 million barrels of oil on Sept. 2, per AP. This number is still far short of the approximately 20 million barrels of oil that flowed through the waterway before the Trump administration launched its attack on Iran.
Donald Trump and JD Vance in Washington, DC, on July 28, 2026.
Credit: Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty
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U.S. public support for the Iran war has declined in recent months, particularly as the Nov. 3 congressional elections approach.
A July poll conducted by Politico found that support for the war among Trump’s voter base had fallen 13 points since the conflict began in February, when the U.S. and Israel launched large-scale airstrikes against Iran.
Another poll from UMass-Amherst published in late August also had similar statistics. It found that 54% of Americans disapprove of the war, and one in six Trump voters would go back and change their vote in 2024, per the Guardian.
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