US President Donald Trump on Friday called the ongoing Iran war “small potatoes” for the United States, downplaying the conflict as it enters its seventh month despite fresh tensions and continuing military action in the region.
“A lot of people don’t call it a war. I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing. We did Venezuela, and we did this,” Trump told reporters, while responding to comments made by Vice President JD Vance a day earlier.
Trump’s remarks come as the conflict, which began on February 28 after the US and Israel launched a joint military operation against Iran, continues to draw the region into repeated flare-ups.
Vance Also Rejects ‘War’ Label
A day before Trump’s comments, Vance said he would not call the Iran conflict
as a war, arguing that there was currently no active shooting.
“I wouldn’t call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting,” Vance had said at a White House briefing.
He acknowledged that fighting had “flared up” in some places but said major combat operations had lasted around six weeks following the start of the US-Israel operation.
However, Vance also admitted that he could not say when the conflict would end, particularly as Iran continues to target ships and effectively maintains a shipping blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been under severe disruption since the war began.
“But when you ask when will this end… I think the reality is I don’t know the answer to that question. You would have to ask the Iranians,” he said.
Renewed Clashes Put Claims To Test
Despite the White House’s efforts to play down the conflict, fighting has continued to flare up.
After a period of relative calm, fresh clashes began earlier this week following US raids on Sunday. Iran has also continued attacks, claiming on Thursday that it struck US military bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for a strike on a wedding that Tehran blamed on Washington. Iran’s Red Crescent said four people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 others were wounded in the incident.
The war has reportedly killed 18 US troops and thousands of people in Iran and Lebanon since it began.
Fresh Jordan Base Attack
Hours before Trump’s latest remarks, conflicting reports also emerged over an alleged Iranian missile attack on a US military base in Jordan.
Iranian state media reported missile launches towards US forces, while the official X account of Iran’s Consulate General in Mumbai appeared to acknowledge a strike, saying: “Our forces struck a U.S. base in #Jordan that was preparing to strike us.”
However, a senior US official told Israel’s Channel 14 that Washington did not recognise any firing on US bases in Jordan “at this stage”.
Videos circulating online appeared to show air defence activity over Jordan, but their timing and location have not been independently verified. Jordan has also not officially confirmed an attack on its soil.
(With inputs from agencies)
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