As the United States and Israel\u2019s war on Iran enters its seventh month with no clear end in sight, President Donald Trump has become the latest US official to downplay the conflict.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Trump said the conflict, which has resulted in the deaths of 18 US service members and a spike in global energy prices, is \u201csmall potatoes\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s not a big thing,\u201d Trump said, comparing strikes on Iran with other US military campaigns, including the January 3 operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did Venezuela, and we did this. In Venezuela, we lost nobody. In this, we lost 18 people.\u201d<\/p>\n
His remarks came at an Oval Office signing event, where reporters asked him to weigh in on remarks from Vice President JD Vance.<\/p>\n
A day earlier, at a White House news briefing, Vance appeared to suggest the conflict had cooled, despite a recent exchange of intense fire between US and Iranian forces.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting,\u201d Vance said, arguing that major combat operations only lasted six weeks. He then added, \u201cI recognise there have been places where this has flared up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump on Friday told reporters there was \u201ca lot of truth\u201d to what Vance said. He opted to brand the fighting as a \u201cmilitary conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do intermittent strikes,\u201d Trump said, adding: \u201cWe\u2019re not fighting right now. There\u2019s no fighting. We\u2019re taking out a lot of oil. We control the Hormuz Strait. We control it very strongly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the war began on February 28, Trump has used various phrases to avoid calling the conflict a war.<\/p>\n
In the past, he has called the fighting with Iran a \u201clittle skirmish\u201d, a \u201clittle detour\u201d and a \u201clittle excursion, a couple of weeks, few weeks of excursion\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an excursion that will keep us out of a war,\u201d Trump said in March.<\/p>\n
Experts say such terminology is likely strategic. The Trump administration has faced pushback for not seeking congressional approval before launching its strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n
The US Constitution grants Congress the exclusive power to declare war, though successive presidencies have taken unilateral military actions without the legislature\u2019s approval. Legal scholars have repeatedly questioned the legality of those manoeuvres.<\/p>\n
In June, both chambers of Congress passed a war powers resolution<\/a>, calling on Trump to either stop his military campaign against Iran or seek congressional authorisation for it.<\/p>\n The resolution was largely symbolic, though it did signal growing bipartisan opposition to Trump\u2019s war on Iran.<\/p>\n As the conflict enters its seventh month, it remains widely unpopular in the US.<\/p>\n A poll released<\/a> on Monday by the Reuters news agency and the research firm Ipsos found that nearly six in 10 US adults disapproved of the military strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n As the midterm elections approach in November, and peace talks remain deadlocked, the president\u2019s remarks appear designed to minimise the conflict\u2019s impact across the world.<\/p>\n The war has led to attacks across the Middle East, and fuel prices remain high. In the US, the American Automobile Association (AAA) says the average fuel price is $4.15 per gallon (3.8 litres), up nearly a dollar from last year.<\/p>\n The Trump administration, however, has long argued the war and its effects would be short-term.<\/p>\n It has also signalled that it intends to double down on its economic pressure campaign against Iran, which has long faced US sanctions.<\/p>\n In August, Trump pledged on Truth Social to pursue the \u201cMOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY\u201d.<\/p>\n