Vance says "I wouldn't call it a war" and "there is no active shooting"
Vice president of the United States, answering reporters at a White House press briefing
“in the phrase an end to the war, I want to push back on that just a little bit, because major combat operations are currently not ongoing, and they haven't been ongoing in a very long time. ... I wouldn't call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting. I recognize there is -- there have been places where this has flared up, major combat operations. Again, major combat operations lasted for about six weeks.”
Source and context
Original video
About this source
C-SPAN's video clip of Vice President JD Vance answering a question about whether the fighting with Iran would be over by the midterm elections. C-SPAN's summary says he replied that he would not call it a war and said major combat operations lasted about six weeks.
Original text
About this source
CNN's rush transcript of the September 3, 2026 White House briefing, aired on Isa Soares Tonight. CNN marks the copy as possibly not in its final form. It contains Vance's answer to Kaitlan Collins about the midterm elections and an earlier answer in which he pushed back on the phrase an end to the war.
Original text
About this source
Roll Call Factbase's transcript of the full September 3, 2026 briefing, with time marks. It spells the reporter's first name Caitlin. The wording of Vance's answer matches the CNN transcript apart from punctuation.
Before the quotation
A reporter asked how the President would declare an end to the war if the U.S. naval blockade remained in place. Later, CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked whether the war would be over by the time of the midterm elections.
After the quotation
Vance said that when the fighting ends depends on when the Iranians stop shooting at ships, and that the administration would not set an artificial timeline.
How this statement is classified
Responding to: Vice President JD Vance said he would not call the U.S. fight with Iran a war, saying there is no active shooting right now and that major combat operations lasted about six weeks.
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Vance's own characterization that the fighting is not a war. He states it and defends it by pointing to the end of major combat operations. Challenges the characterization is the closest competing label and loses because Vance applies the characterization rather than disputing it.
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Is the U.S. fight with Iran a war, as Vice President Vance says it is not?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
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Read the full case“it is an overt military aggression against Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”Read statement
“We're still in a conflict, for sure. The United States Navy is there to reduce Iran's ability to cause trouble, but they're doing everything they can to cause trouble. And the United States' capabilities to deflect that have continued to grow. But we're in a conflict zone. ... So, this is a conflict. Make no mistake about that.”Read statement
““Small potatoes.” That’s how Donald Trump feels about the war he started in Iran. Tell that to the families of the 18 troops we’ve lost, the hundreds of wounded servicemembers, and the Americans suffering every single day from record high prices. There's nothing small about it.”Read statement