President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States’ conflict with Iran was “small potatoes”, defending Vice President JD Vance after Vance said months of sporadic attacks in the Middle East did not amount to a “war”. Asked during an Oval Office exchange about Vance’s comments from the previous day, Trump said US strikes on Iran were now “intermittent” and added that “a lot of people don’t call it a war”. The fighting has been ongoing since Feb. 28 and has cost US taxpayers more than $37.5 billion, while 18 members of the US armed forces have been killed. “I can understand what he’s saying,” Trump told reporters. He said the United States was carrying out a “military conflict” that was “small potatoes for us” and “not a big thing”. Trump Defends Vance’s “Not A War” LineVance, speaking at a White House press briefing on Thursday, pushed back on the use of the word “war” to describe US action against Iran. He also avoided predicting that the conflict, which has lasted about six months, would be over before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, when Republicans are trying to hold their narrow majorities in Congress. “I wouldn’t call it a war,” Vance said, when asked whether the fighting could end before voters cast ballots. He added that “right now, there is no active shooting.” His comments came even as Iran fired at US Gulf ally Kuwait on Thursday, in retaliation for US strikes on Iran earlier in the week. Only Air Strikes, No US TroopsTrump said on Friday that the US death toll in the Iran conflict was lower than in some other recent wars, arguing that the campaign has been limited. He said that the US and Israel have carried out air strikes only, and that no troops have been deployed into Iran. He compared the outcome with previous US operations, saying the US had “lost nobody” in Venezuela when it carried out a January mission to seize former President Nicolás Maduro and move him to New York for federal drug trafficking charges. Trump said the Iran campaign had instead resulted in 18 US deaths. Trump also referenced the Vietnam War, saying the conflict there had caused far more casualties, and cited 100,000 deaths. The US National Archives records that 58,220 members of the US armed forces died in Vietnam. Nuclear Programme, Trump’s “Weeks” ArgumentA reporter challenged Trump over calling the Iran conflict “small potatoes” despite the deaths of 18 US service members. Trump responded by reiterating his argument that the fighting would last only weeks at the start and that it has helped curb Iran’s nuclear programme. “Iran will not have a nuclear weapon because if they did you probably wouldn’t be standing here,” Trump said. Join the discussion? 5 September 2026
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