Chris Wright is the 17th U.S. Secretary of Energy, confirmed by the Senate on February 3, 2025. He founded the oilfield technology company Pinnacle Technologies and later served as chairman and chief executive of Liberty Energy.
Case
Vice President JD Vance said he would not call the U.S. fight with Iran a war, citing no active shooting. President Trump defended the description; Sanders, Schumer and Massie criticized it, and Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson called the fighting aggression, not war.
Role at the time: U.S. Secretary of Energy, interviewed on ABC's This Week
Response to this claim
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.
“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.”
Wright does not adopt the word war, which is consistent with Vance's wording, but he says the U.S. is in a conflict and a conflict zone with Iran causing trouble, which does not endorse Vance's picture of no active shooting. Because the statement combines those two positions, mixed or conditional fits better than defends or excuses.
Statement dates: September 6, 2026
Statement dates: September 6, 2026
Statement dates: September 6, 2026
