Vance says Iran conflict isn’t a ‘war,’ even as he refuses to say when it will end

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Vice President JD Vance could provide neither a timeline for the Iran war to end nor a date when gas prices might sink below pre-war levels during a White House appearance Thursday, suggesting instead it was up to Iran to conclude the conflict that began with joint US-Israeli airstrikes six months ago.

The current hostilities shouldn’t even be called a “war,” Vance argued, since “active combat operations” ended months ago.

“Right now, there is no active shooting,” Vance insisted, despite three consecutive days this week when the US and Iran exchanged fire, including around the Strait of Hormuz.

The description of the Middle East situation as an occasional, low-grade battle was a sign the administration is trying to place the war in the rear-view mirror two months ahead of critical midterm elections, even as the US military continues actively targeting Iranian positions. Updated casualty figures from the Pentagon on Thursday showed 790 US service members have been wounded and 18 killed since the conflict began in late February.

On Tuesday, the US conducted a multi-faceted operation , hitting nearly 60 military targets around the strait — including air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites — while simultaneously escorting ships through the waterway.

The US military expects to continue conducting offensive strikes near the strait, in part because Iran has demonstrated it has the capacity to reconstitute its capabilities. Conducting those strikes amounts to “mowing the grass” or a game of “whack-a-mole,” officials said.

Although Tuesday’s operation was a success, officials are under no illusion that a swift solution to the conflict is close. And energy companies are still wary about the huge risks involved in sending their ships through the strait, even with military escorts.

The unpopular war has caused an uptick in gas prices, prompting anxiety among Republicans looking to maintain congressional majorities.

Trump insisted this week he feels no pressure to wind down hostilities before ballots are cast. But his advisers and allies all concede the further the war recedes from view in the lead-up to November, the better.

Vance, who initially opposed going to war with Iran, played a leading role earlier this summer in trying to broker a diplomatic settlement. But the ceasefire he negotiated fell apart after two weeks, and the two sides returned to a cycle of back-and-forth strikes as Iran sought to maintain control of the strait.

Calm prevailed for most of August. But the strikes resumed this week when the US took out Iranian positions near the strait it said were preparing to launch mines into the waterway. Vance said the administration is investigating reports that the latest US strikes killed four people attending a wedding celebration in a village near the Strait of Hormuz, declining to rule out that civilians were killed while insisting the military “never targets civilian in combat.”

“We never will do that, we never have done that, and unfortunately, obviously, sometimes things happen, but in this particular case, I don’t think that we have any information one way or the other,” Vance said.

Tehran retaliated against the latest US strikes by targeting American bases in the region.

Now, there are no talks underway with the Iranians, Vance said.

“The president’s been very clear,” he told reporters at Thursday’s press briefing. “We’re not talking to them, and we’re not going to talk to them unless they stop shooting at commercial shipping.”

That leaves an uncertain timeline for concluding the conflict. Vance could not say whether it would end by the elections, which fall on November 3.

“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,” he said. “You would have to ask the Iranians.”

The vice president would also not say when gas might become cheaper.

“I’m not going to make a promise about when it’s going to return to $3,” he said. “What I will say is that we have to remember why are we doing this? Number one, it’s so that Iran never has a nuclear weapon.”

Vance was speaking from the White House briefing room, which had gone unused by the administration for 42 days. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt left the job last week, and Trump has not named a replacement.

Vance spoke for nearly an hour, taking questions on everything from the Iran conflict to his own slimmed-down figure, which he attributed to a diet prescribed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“I eat a lot of high protein stuff and I eat a lot of sauerkraut,” he said, describing the regime as somewhat less than appetizing: “If you want to enjoy what you eat, do not call Bobby Kennedy.”

He also offered robust support for another Cabinet member, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth , whose management of the Pentagon has come under scrutiny amid turmoil prompted by firings, blocked promotions and resignations of senior officers.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll — a close friend of Vance from their days together at Yale Law School — became the latest Pentagon departure when he submitted his resignation this week. That left the Army without its top civilian leader.

Hegseth — who served in the Army National Guard for nearly 20 years — has taken particular interest in the Army and its leadership, firing or forcing out several key leaders in the service.

And even some prominent retiring Republicans have called for Hegseth to go. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who was a crucial vote to confirm the defense secretary last year, said he had “never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country.” He also said Hegseth was “intimidated by competence.”

Vance, however, downplayed the departures, and said instead that Hegseth was working to reform the military.

“America has fought a lot of wars since I’ve been alive, 42 years, and we have won almost none of them until Donald J. Trump became the president of the United States,” he said.

CNN’s Davis Winkie contributed to this report.

乔纳森·恩斯特/路透社

副总统 JD Vance 周四在白宫露面时，既没有给出伊朗战争结束的时间表，也没有给出汽油价格可能跌至战前水平以下的日期，而是暗示结束这场始于六个月前美以联合空袭的冲突取决于伊朗。

范斯认为，目前的敌对行动甚至不应该被称为“战争”，因为“积极的作战行动”几个月前就已经结束了。

“目前没有枪击事件发生，”万斯坚称，尽管本周美国和伊朗连续三天交火，包括在霍尔木兹海峡附近。

将中东局势描述为零星的低烈度战斗，表明美国政府试图在关键的中期选举前两个月将这场战争抛诸脑后，尽管美军仍在积极打击伊朗目标。五角大楼周四更新的伤亡数据显示，自2月底冲突爆发以来，已有790名美军士兵受伤，18人阵亡。

周二，美国开展了一项多方面的军事行动，打击了海峡周围近 60 个军事目标，包括防空设施、雷达系统、海上资产、布雷能力和通信设施，同时还护送舰船通过该水道。

美国军方预计将继续在霍尔木兹海峡附近进行进攻性打击，部分原因是伊朗已表明其有能力重建军事能力。官员们表示，进行这些打击就像“割草”或“打地鼠”游戏一样轻松。

尽管周二的行动取得了成功，但官员们清楚地认识到，冲突短期内难以迅速解决。即使有军方护航，能源公司仍然对派遣船只通过海峡的巨大风险保持警惕。

这场不得人心的战争导致汽油价格上涨，引发了希望保住国会多数席位的共和党人的焦虑。

特朗普本周坚称，他并不感到在投票前结束敌对行动的压力。但他的顾问和盟友都承认，在11月大选前，战争越是淡出人们的视线越好。

最初反对与伊朗开战的万斯，在今年夏天早些时候曾发挥主导作用，试图促成外交解决。但他斡旋达成的停火协议仅维持了两周便宣告破裂，双方再次陷入互射空袭的恶性循环，伊朗试图继续控制霍尔木兹海峡。

八月的大部分时间里，局势平静。但本周，美军再次发动空袭，摧毁了霍尔木兹海峡附近伊朗的据点，美军称伊朗正准备向该水道布雷。万斯表示，政府正在调查有关美军最新空袭造成霍尔木兹海峡附近一个村庄四名参加婚礼的村民死亡的报道，他拒绝排除平民伤亡的可能性，但同时坚称军方“在战斗中绝不会以平民为目标”。

“我们永远不会那样做，也从来没有那样做过。很遗憾，显然，有时候事情会发生，但就这个具体案例而言，我认为我们没有任何确切的信息，”万斯说。

德黑兰对美国最近的空袭进行了报复，袭击了该地区的美国基地。

万斯说，目前没有与伊朗方面进行任何谈判。

“总统的立场非常明确，”他在周四的新闻发布会上告诉记者，“我们不会和他们对话，除非他们停止向商船开火。”

这使得冲突何时结束仍存在不确定性。万斯无法确定冲突能否在11月3日的大选前结束。

“你问我这一切何时才能结束，就好比问我伊朗人什么时候才能停止向船只开火一样。我觉得现实是，我也不知道答案，”他说。“你得去问伊朗人。”

副总统也拒绝透露汽油价格何时会下降。

“我不会承诺什么时候汇率会回到3美元，”他说。“但我必须强调的是，我们必须记住我们为什么要这样做？首先，是为了防止伊朗拥有核武器。”

万斯是在白宫新闻发布室发表讲话的，该发布室已经42天没有被政府使用。新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特上周离职，特朗普尚未任命继任者。

万斯发表了近一个小时的讲话，回答了从伊朗冲突到他自己苗条的身材等各种问题，他将此归功于卫生与公众服务部部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪制定的饮食计划。

“我吃很多高蛋白食物，也吃很多酸菜，”他说，并形容这种饮食方式不太诱人：“如果你想享受美食，就不要给罗伯特·肯尼迪打电话。”

他还对另一位内阁成员、国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯表示了强有力的支持。由于解雇、晋升受阻和高级军官辞职等一系列事件引发的动荡，赫格塞斯对五角大楼的管理受到了审查。

陆军部长丹·德里斯科尔——他与万斯在耶鲁法学院时期是挚友——本周递交辞呈，成为五角大楼最新一位离职官员。他的离职使得陆军失去了最高文职领导人。

曾在陆军国民警卫队服役近 20 年的赫格塞斯对陆军及其领导层特别感兴趣，他解雇或迫使几位陆军关键领导人离开。

甚至一些即将退休的知名共和党人也呼吁赫格塞斯下台。北卡罗来纳州参议员汤姆·蒂利斯去年在确认国防部长人选时投下了关键一票，他表示“从未见过如此无能地管理那些为国效力的勇敢男女军人”。他还说，赫格塞斯“被能力所震慑”。

然而，万斯淡化了这些人员离职事件，反而表示赫格塞斯正在努力改革军队。

他说：“在我42年的人生中，美国打过很多战争，但在唐纳德·J·特朗普成为美国总统之前，我们几乎没有赢过一场战争。”

美国有线电视新闻网 (CNN) 的戴维斯·温基 (Davis Winkie) 对本报告做出了贡献。