Vance says Iran conflict is not a 'war'

While tensions between the United States and Iran keep escalating, US Vice-President JD Vance rejected the use of the word "war" to describe the six-month-old conflict, holding back from predicting an end before November's midterm elections.

Meanwhile, Iran has vowed to avenge victims after accusing the US of committing a war crime in an earlier strike on a wedding gathering that killed five people and wounded nearly 70. US President Donald Trump warned of further strikes, as fresh clashes have deepened the impasse.

"I wouldn't call it a war," Vance said after being asked during a White House news briefing about whether the fighting could be wrapped up before the Nov 3 elections. "Right now, there is no active shooting."

Vance's effort to minimize the intensity of the fighting illuminates the difficult task at hand for the Trump administration as it tries to persuade voters to keep Republicans in control of Congress, even as the unpopular conflict has driven up gas prices and left consumers grappling with higher inflation, The Associated Press commented.

Vance said the administration retains a full set of policy options to deal with Iran, including economic, military, diplomatic and covert measures, but would not publicly disclose its plans for engaging with Iran. Vance added he didn't want to set "artificial timelines".

Iranian state television on Thursday said that a 22-year-old woman had died in hospital following the wedding strike on Tuesday, taking the total death toll to five, including two women and two children. The US has not accepted responsibility for the incident and Vance said the US was investigating.

The chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ahmad Vahidi, vowed retribution on Thursday for the civilian casualties.

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf lashed out at Washington over the attack, calling the US "Satan". The Iranian Red Crescent has called for an international probe, including an inquiry by the International Criminal Court.

Footage released by Iran's Mehr News Agency from the victims' funeral showed mourners scattering petals to mourn the dead.

"This was a wedding ceremony, but they turned people's joy into mourning," the Tasnim News Agency quoted a local man as saying.

The incident came roughly six months after a missile struck a primary school in Iran. Subsequent investigative evidence points to a US Tomahawk missile, though the Pentagon has not released any findings.

On Thursday, Iran fired at US forces in Kuwait as it continued to retaliate for rounds of US strikes on Iran this past week. Kuwait's military said its air defenses had intercepted missiles and drones.

The escalation has driven oil prices to levels unseen since July. Prices rose for a fourth straight day on Thursday, taking Brent crude futures over $96 a barrel. Meanwhile, shipping data compiled by Kpler and cited by Reuters showed that four commodity shipping vessels crossed the waterway on Thursday, down from nine the previous day.

'New strategy'

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei warned the US earlier that Tehran had adopted a "new strategy" in the war that "will shatter your foundations".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a hawkish tone on Thursday, voicing confidence that Iran could soon collapse. "I am convinced that we can remove this threat once and for all," he told senior military commanders.

Even so, Wolfgang Pusztai, former Austrian defense attache to Libya, said the US has not disabled Iran's military capabilities and for the moment, "neither side has an intention to escalate".

Still, both Tehran and Washington could be forced into wider hostilities if either side sustains heavy civilian or troop losses, the analyst told Al Jazeera.

"I'm rather optimistic that we will not see a major escalation in the near future," Pusztai said, adding that he would advise Tehran to take a "peaceful approach" to living with its Gulf neighbors.

Contact the writers at cuihaipei@chinadaily.com.cn