Iran war is not a war, US VP Vance says

Washington (United States) (AFP) – US Vice President JD Vance said Thursday he would not categorize the Iran war as a war, despite continuing clashes with Tehran six months after the start of the conflict.

Vance's comments came amid growing signs that President Donald Trump is trying to draw a line under the conflict that has bogged down his administration.

"I wouldn't call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting," Vance told a White House briefing when asked if the war would be over by US midterm elections in November.

Vance added that "I recognize there have been places where this has flared up" but said major combat operations only lasted for six weeks after the US-Israel war started on February 28.

"But 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," he said.

After several weeks of calm, fresh clashes began with US raids on Sunday, deepening the impasse in the six-month war, as Iran maintains a stranglehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Vance insisted that the United States would not reopen talks with Iran until it ended attacks on commercial shipping.

But with fuel prices threatening to cost Trump's Republicans their control of Congress at the ballot box, his administration has begun pushing the message that oil flows through the waterway are now returning to pre-war levels.

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