WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday said the conflict in Iran is “small potatoes” as he defended Vice President JD Vance for asserting that months of on-and-off attacks in the Middle East are not a “war.” Asked during an Oval Office exchange about Vance’s comments made a day earlier, Trump noted that U.

S. strikes on Iran are now “intermittent” and seemed to downplay the intensity of a war that's cost U.S. taxpayers more than $37.5 billion and left 18 U.S. service members dead. “I can understand what he’s saying,” said Trump. He added, “I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us.

It's not a big thing." Vance on Thursday, during a White House press briefing, rejected the use of the word “war” to describe the U.S. fighting with Iran and steered clear of predicting that the 6-month-old conflict would be over by November’s midterm elections, in which Republicans are trying to hang on to their narrow majorities in Congress.

“I wouldn’t call it a war,” Vance said after being asked during a White House press briefing about whether the fighting could end before voters cast their ballots in the Nov. 3 congressional elections. “Right now, there is no active shooting.” Vance’s assertion came even as Iran fired at U.

S. Gulf ally Kuwait on Thursday in retaliation for rounds of U.S. strikes on Iran earlier in the week. Trump in Friday's exchange with reporters added that the U.S. death toll in the Iran conflict is relatively lower than some other recent U.

S. wars. The U.S., along with Israel, have only carried out air strikes in the Iran war, which began on Feb. 28, and has not deployed troops into the country. “We did Venezuela and we did this. In Venezuela, we lost nobody,” said Trump, referring to the January U.

S. military operation to seize former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and spirit him to New York City to face federal drug trafficking charges. “And this, we lost 18 people. And, in Vietnam we lost 100,000 people. And in other conflicts, we lost tens of thousands of people.

” A total of 58,220 members of the U.S. armed forces died during the Vietnam War, according to records from the U.S. National Archives. Pressed by a reporter on describing the conflict as “small potatoes" when 18 U.S. service members have been killed, Trump responded by reiterating his argument that the conflict—one that he said at the outset of the war would last a matter of weeks—has led to the defanging of Iran's nuclear program.

“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon because if they did you probably wouldn’t be standing here,” Trump said.

US President Donald Trump announced on September 4 that envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are traveling to Moscow and Kyiv with an unspecified peace proposal for the ongoing conflict. While Trump did not confirm whether the plan includes territorial concessions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated he proposed a mutual ceasefire regarding airstrikes during the duration of the envoys' visits.

The Air Force clarified that Maj. Alex Klinner’s final benefits package would include hazard pay and combat-related tax exclusions following public scrutiny of an initial assessment deeming him ineligible. This resolution occurred after Klinner’s widow reported on social media that a support officer had cited the absence of a formal state of war, despite his death in March during U.

S. operations in Iraq.

Vice President Vance has characterized the conflict with Iran as less than a "war," while expressing skepticism regarding reports that a U.S. strike targeted a wedding party. Concurrently, U.S. officials state that no major military operations are currently underway, leaving various strategic options open as the administration navigates the ongoing tension.