President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.
The U.S. and Iran have nonetheless continued to exchange strikes, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz as the primary flashpoint.
President Donald Trump said the war in Iran is "small potatoes" and "not a big thing" for the U.S. and that the U.S. has "essentially" taken over Iran.
Trump brushed off comments from Vice President JD Vance who said he does not consider the Iran conflict to be a war on Thursday.
Trump insisted that it doesn't matter what it's called. Trump also said he can "understand" Vance's assessment and claimed there is "no fighting" at the moment, despite the recent resumption of military strikes on both sides.
"I would say it's a military conflict if you want. Some people could call it. I don't think it matters what you call it," Trump said.
A spokesman for Iran foreign ministry accused the United States of "deliberately attacking civilian targets" in a post on his X account on Thursday.
Esmaeil Baqaei said that Iranian recent strikes on Qatar have been "defensive" and only targeted U.S. bases in Qatari soil, adding that America has targeted "schools, hospitals, residential neighborhoods, wedding ceremonies, bridges, and more."
Vice President JD Vance was asked earlier in the day about reports that civilians were struck in recent U.S. attacks, during a wedding celebration.
Vance did not weigh in on specifics, saying that the U.S. is investigating the incident, but added that he is "extremely skeptical" of the reports because they come out of Iran.
"What I can say with 100% confidence is that unlike the IRGC, the United States never targets civilians in combat. We never will do that. We never have done that. And unfortunately, obviously, sometimes things happen," he told reporters.
-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian and Isabella Murray
Vice President JD Vance tried to downplay the war, saying it’s not a war at all, while speaking to reporters at the White House.
"I wouldn't call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting. I recognize there is -- there have been places where this is flared up, major combat operations," Vance argued.
"Again, major combat operations lasted for about six weeks. And since then, we destroyed, of course, their nuclear facilities with Midnight Hammer. With Epic Fury, we destroyed their defense industrial base for producing weapons. And also a lot of their conventional military. And then we made it harder for them to rebuild that nuclear program," he continued.
Pressed on when this will end, Vance put the onus on the Iranians saying they need to stop shooting at commercial ships, but he notably did not say what the plan is to get Iran to stop shooting.
"I think the reality is, I don't know the answer to that question. You would have to ask the Iranians. When will the Iranians shooting at ships stop having an effect on world energy markets?" he said.
"What we're going to do is not depend on the Iranians behaving responsibly or negotiating in good faith. What we're going to do is use the tools that we have at our disposal to ensure that the American people, one, never have to deal with the threat of an Iranian nuclear program and to the world, energy markets are properly supplied," he said.
Vance repeatedly refused to put any kind of timeline on this conflict.
"The United States is the only country with the capability to ensure that those oil and gas ships get to market. Well, what I would say is it would be irresponsible for us to write out our strategy and our timeline for an Iranian nation that simply cannot honor its commitments and cannot stop shooting at commercial ships," he said.
-ABC News' Mary Bruce
The number of U.S. troops wounded in the war with Iran increased to 767, according to an update on the Pentagon's casualty database made within the last 24 hours.
This is up from the most recent update on Aug. 28 where the number of injured was 758.
-ABC News' Steve Beynon
President Donald Trump is protesting reports that say U.S. munition stockpiles are dwindling as the Iran war drags on, suggesting the media outlets that are publishing the story are "100% wrong" and "actually treasonous."
"The people and Media Outlets that keep harping on the fact that we have no ammunition (And they are 100% wrong!), are actually treasonous," Trump said in a post on his social media platform Thursday.
He said the U.S. has "virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition," adding that it’s "far more than we could ever use for this, or for any other War (which is highly unlikely!), that could improbably take place."
He also pushed back on reports that the U.S. is struggling to produce munitions, saying the U.S. is currently stockpiling weapons and "preparing for any contingency that could happen."
Trump said weapons sales to allies would begin again "soon."
"We are producing Munitions at levels never seen before. We are stockpiling and preparing for any contingency that could happen. We are taking them for ourselves, the U.S.A., rather than selling them to others, but the sales to Allies will soon again, begin," Trump wrote on social media.
He also repeated his position from earlier this week that the war in Ukraine, not in Iran, is where most U.S. munitions have been used– again blaming former president Joe Biden for providing aid to Ukraine.
