Vance says conflict with Iran is not a war

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said he would not call the conflict with Iran a war, even as he acknowledged that shooting had resumed in some locations.

Speaking at a White House news conference on Sept. 3, Vance said there was “no active shooting right now.” He added that major military operations had lasted six weeks after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.

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I will not call the conflict with Iran a war. Right now, there is no active shooting.

Asked when the conflict would end, Vance said he did not know when Iran would stop firing on ships. Washington, he said, would not resume negotiations with Tehran “until it stops attacking commercial shipping,” according to AFP.

Vance said the United States was weighing every option for dealing with Iran, including economic pressure, military pressure, diplomatic pressure and covert pressure campaigns. He also said Iran was losing its capabilities day by day and argued that its control over the Strait of Hormuz had effectively weakened.

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I think they’re realizing that their control over the Strait of Hormuz really is gone, and that’s a leverage that is increasingly being lost.

“I think they’re realizing that their control over the Strait of Hormuz really is gone, and that’s a leverage that is increasingly being lost,” Vance said. He urged Iran to stop what he called reckless actions and halt attacks on commercial vessels.

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad offered a contrasting account in comments to the Iranian Students News Agency. He said oil workers had continued loading tankers even under bombardment and that the country’s crude oil exports had never stopped, “not even for one hour.”

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Even under bombardment, our colleagues continued loading oil onto tankers. The country’s crude oil exports have never been interrupted, not even for one hour.