(Fortune)- Missiles and drones are flying across the Persian Gulf, but President Donald Trump minimized the war the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran 100 days ago.
In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, he was asked if the U.S. is at war with Iran in light of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent comment that it has concluded.
“Well, they’ve been largely decapitated. And I call it a military exercise because people would rather have it called that. It’s not a big war for us. It’s not,” Trump replied.
Meanwhile, a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has been in place for about two months, but talks for a more lasting peace have stalled.
As a result, the Strait of Hormuz remains mostly closed, though more traffic is flowing, and the U.S. is maintaining a naval blockade, which is considered an act of war.
“They put up a blockade and so we blockaded them,” Trump told NBC. “And we have the ultimate blockade. I don’t consider that a war, but if you want to define it as such, I guess you can.”
He later added, “I don’t define it at all. I don’t think about it. I just do what I have to do.”
But fighting has not completely stopped. In fact, it’s heating up as Iran has launched missiles and drones at U.S. allies in the region, while also threatening commercial ships.
The U.S. has responded by shooting down the projectiles, destroying Iranian boats, and bombing missile sites in Iran that tried to shoot down U.S. aircraft.
Last weekend, the U.S. disabled a ship attempting to breach its naval blockade by firing a missile into the engine room. Also last weekend, the U.S. conducted “self-defense strikes” in Goruk, Iran, and Qeshm Island.
On Friday, Central Command said U.S. forces shot down Iranian missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf neighbors. Then Central Command announced Saturday evening in the U.S. (early Sunday in the Mideast) that two more Iranian drones were downed.
Despite 13 U.S. service members dying in the Iran conflict and thousands of Iranians, Trump has been sensitive about calling it a war.
In March, he said “they don’t like the word war because you’re supposed to get approval.” Instead, Trump added that he prefers to call the Iran war a “military operation,” echoing Russia’s use of the term “special military operation” to refer to its invasion of Ukraine.
But as public opinion sours, Congress has signaled more assertiveness in limiting the president. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted 215-208, with four Republicans joining Democrats, to rein in Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran.
Administration officials previously have argued that the War Powers Act, which requires congressional authorization for military action lasting more than 60 days, doesn’t apply to Iran because of the ceasefire.
Later in the NBC interview, Trump was pressed about breaking his promise not to start new wars, which was a consistent message during his 2024 campaign.
“First of all, I didn’t guarantee no war,” he claimed. “Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?”
Trumped added that he didn’t want to use the military, “but I’m doing you and everybody else a big favor.”
During his second term, he has deployed the military steadily. Last June, the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear facilities amid Israel’s war against the regime. In January, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. And U.S. airstrikes on suspected drug boats are ongoing after starting last fall.
The operational tempo has been so heavy that U.S. stockpiles of key munitions are running low, and the USS Gerald Ford recently completed the longest deployment for an aircraft carrier since the Vietnam War.
By contrast, Tump vowed during his November 2024 victory speech that “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.”
