Trump called the Iran conflict small potatoes, noting $37.5 billion spent and 18 U.S. deaths, while defending Vance’s claim it is not a war and saying the fighting remains intermittent with only air strikes and no ground troops.
Vance said on Thursday that the fighting is not a war and offered no timeline, while Iran struck a U.S. ally in Kuwait on Thursday after U.S. air strikes on Tuesday targeted coastal military sites in retaliation for shipping attacks.
The U.S. military says it never targets civilians, but weapons experts say the wedding strike came from a direct U.S. munition, raising domestic pressure on the Trump administration to end a conflict that has driven Brent crude above $96 per barrel.
Vance pledged an investigation into the wedding casualties, while Iranian officials reported five deaths and 70 wounded, and the Pentagon has not released its internal findings on the incident, even as U.S. officials remain silent on responsibility and the strike occurred after a week of relative calm.