Skip to main content

← "Nothing Is Happening"

"It's Not a War": From "At War With Iran's Nuclear Program" to "Small Potatoes"

The denial​

  • June 2025. Vice President JD Vance: "We're not at war with Iran, we're at war with Iran's nuclear program" (quoted by Dr. Sukh Sandhu, 22 June 2025). A supporter post that day: "This is also not war, it was a precision military operation which included precise targets and nothing else... Trust your president, trust the plan, and have faith" (The SCIF, 22 June 2025).
  • 2025 and before. "Trump 2025: 'We're not at war with Iran,'" as one post compiled, beside Reagan 1987, Bush 2007, and Obama 2016 saying the same (ScrapBuster, 26 September 2026).
  • June 2026. The President to NBC: "I do not consider the naval blockade on Iran a war, but if someone wants to describe it as a war, I expect they can do that" (as posted by Open Source Intel, thread).
  • September 2026. "Vance said six months of U.S.-Iran fighting 'isn't a war' even as Iran retaliated and hostilities continued" (Randy Ferrell, 2 September 2026); a blog's audit of a New York Times story noted the President later calling the conflict "small potatoes" (CotoBuzz).

The record​

  • On 28 February 2026 the President announced what ABC News described as a "massive and ongoing operation" against Iran with Israel, Operation Epic Fury (ABC News). The opening strikes killed the Supreme Leader.
  • Rep. Jared Moskowitz: "The President of the United States has said it's a war. The Secretary of War has said it's a war" (X, 5 March 2026).
  • Netanyahu, September 2026: "Brave American pilots, alongside brave Israeli pilots, flew JOINT MISSIONS over the skies of Iran" (as posted by @SkylineReport).
  • Iran's president on 23 September described "nearly seven months of war" (Al Jazeera, as pasted by @rjtees1).
  • An exchange quoted in September 2026: asked whether Netanyahu led him into war with Iran, the President is quoted as saying "I'm the one that started it" (ScrapBuster; transcript not located).

Why the word matters​

Under the Constitution only Congress declares war. Calling a war "not a war" is how it avoids the vote. A critic described one result: an MOU with Iran timed so "we could pause just in time by the day to not need congressional agreement for an official war" (@OBrienClanMan, 21 September 2026). That is his reading, not a document. See Congress and War Powers.

Sources​

Status: JD Vance: Alive. Donald Trump: Alive. Jared Moskowitz: Alive. Benjamin Netanyahu: Alive. Ali Khamenei: Deceased (2026).

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

Last updated on