Overview
- Vice President J.D. Vance told a White House briefing on Thursday that he would not call the fighting a "war" and declined to give a timeline for an end to the campaign.
- Pentagon records show 18 U.S. service members have been killed and hundreds wounded, with officials quietly reclassifying and adding injuries to the tally in recent weeks.
- The White House says it is "very fully" investigating Iranian reports that a U.S. strike hit a wedding in Sirik County that Iranian media say killed at least four people.
- The U.S. military has escorted unprecedented volumes of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, a claim challenged by independent trackers that say overall traffic remains below pre‑conflict levels.
- The administration is using economic pressure and limited strikes to manage a prolonged stalemate with no open diplomatic channel or clear exit plan as midterm politics and weapons stocks shape policy.