Vice President JD Vance said Thursday he will not put an "artificial timeline" on the war with Iran as tension continues to escalate in the Middle East following recent U.S. airstrikes.

Vice President JD Vance said Thursday he will not put an "artificial timeline" on the war with Iran, warning that the conflict will continue on as long as Iran keeps shooting at ships.

"You're asking me a question like, when will the Iranians stop shooting at ships? 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? And the answer is it has less effect day by day," Vance said while hosting the first White House press briefing after former press secretary Karoline Leavitt exited in August.

Vance said the U.S. will not depend on the Iranians "behaving responsibly" or "negotiating in good faith," pointing to recent attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration has taken their previous attempt of negotiating off the table after June’s failed Memorandum of Understanding agreement and have pivoted back to economic and military pressure.

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Vice President JD Vance speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington D.C. on Sept. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

"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," said Vance.

The conflict began Feb. 28, 2026, when the U.S. and its partners launched Operation Epic Fury, striking targets across Iran at President Trump’s direction.

U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that American forces completed a wave of strikes against targets inside Iran, including air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites.

US EMBASSIES IN MIDDLE EAST WARN AMERICANS OF 'UNFORESEEN ESCALATION' AS LATEST STRIKES HIT IRAN

A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo ( )

Vance said the conflict with Iran is not a war, citing that there are no active shootings but "places where this is flared up" and acknowledged major combat operations that lasted under six weeks.

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Vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on Aug. 10, 2026. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

"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," Vance added.

Ashley J. DiMella reports on politics for Fox News Digital.

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