President Donald Trump on Friday described the ongoing U.S. conflict with Iran as "small potatoes" and defended Vice President JD Vance's assertion that the fighting does not constitute a "war."

Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he could understand Vance's remarks, noting that U.S. strikes on Iran are now "intermittent." The president's comments came during an exchange with reporters a day after Vance, during a White House press briefing, rejected the use of the word "war" to describe the U.S. fighting with Iran.

"I can understand what he's saying," Trump said. "I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us. It's not a big thing."

Vance had made his comments on Thursday when asked whether the fighting could end before the November 3 midterm elections, in which Republicans are trying to hold on to their narrow majorities in Congress. "I wouldn't call it a war," Vance said. "Right now, there is no active shooting."

Vance's assertion came even as Iran fired at Kuwait, a U.S. Gulf ally, on Thursday in retaliation for rounds of U.S. strikes on Iran earlier in the week.

The conflict, which began on February 28, has cost U.S. taxpayers more than $37.5 billion and left 18 U.S. service members dead, according to reports. The U.S., along with Israel, has carried out only air strikes in what it has not formally declared a war and has not deployed troops into Iran.

In Friday's exchange, Trump added that the U.S. death toll in the Iran conflict is relatively lower than in some other recent U.S. wars. He compared the losses to other military operations, saying, "We did Venezuela and we did this. In Venezuela, we lost nobody," referring to the January U.S. military operation to seize former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and take him to New York City to face federal drug trafficking charges. "And this, we lost 18 people. And, in Vietnam we lost 100,000 people. And in other conflicts, we lost tens of thousands of people."

According to records from the U.S. National Archives, 58,220 members of the U.S. armed forces died during the Vietnam War.

When a reporter pressed Trump on calling the conflict "small potatoes" despite the deaths of 18 U.S. service members, the president repeated his argument that the fighting has weakened Iran's nuclear program. "Iran will not have a nuclear weapon because if they did you probably wouldn't be standing here," he said.

The Debate Over the Word 'War'

The question of whether to label the U.S. engagement with Iran a "war" has drawn attention beyond the White House. Vice President Vance told reporters that it was up to Iran to provide an end to the conflict, which has seen gas prices rise and uncertainty spread throughout the Middle East. He argued that no active combat operations have happened in months.

However, the hesitation to officially declare a war has had tangible consequences. This week, the widow of a soldier killed in Iran, Libby Klinner, revealed that she has not received death benefits because the government has not officially declared a war. Klinner lost her husband, U.S. Air Force Major John "Alex" Klinner, in March.

She wrote on Instagram: "The Air Force recently told me that because we haven't officially declared war, my kids and I aren't eligible for some benefits. So, not only was my husband killed in a war he never wanted to participate in, but now the benefits we're left with are being dictated by semantics and public perception."

Klinner has since said that the Air Force's director of mortuary affairs contacted her to help with benefits.

The Conflict's Toll and Recent Strikes

Six months on, the U.S. has been unable to reveal when the hostilities in Iran would cease. Earlier this week, forces carried out a fresh wave of strikes against Iranian military targets. A U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) statement said they struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets, including air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine-laying capabilities, and communications sites.

The strikes came after "attempted attacks" by the IRGC in the Strait of Hormuz, which threatened commercial shipping and U.S. personnel. President Trump ordered the attacks in retaliation for what he described as Iranian attempts to lay sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz and to deter further IRGC threats to commercial shipping and U.S. personnel in the region.

More than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently operating across the Middle East. Since February, 790 U.S. service members have been wounded in the conflict.

The administration's efforts to describe the conflict as limited come as it has involved repeated strikes, heavy spending, and American casualties. The exchange on Friday underscored the administration's characterization of the six-month conflict even as it continues to exact a toll.