Vance Addresses War, Including Cyberattack Threat, Gas Prices

Vice President JD Vance conceded Thursday in a White House press conference that he doesn't know when the war with Iran will end. It depends on when Iran stops attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, he said: "You would have to ask the Iranians." He also contested whether it's a war, the New York Times reports, saying he wouldn't call it that because "there is no active shooting"—despite the fact that strikes have been exchanged over the past few days. Other questions about the war Vance was asked include:

• Potential cyberattacks: When asked whether Americans should be concerned about Iranians launching disruptions in the US, Vance said their ability to affect the daily lives of Americans is "not zero, but it's quite limited." He added: "What I would say is that we feel quite confident the homeland is safe. We also feel quite confident that the Iranians are going to try to do a lot of things that they don't have the capability to do."
• Rising gas prices: It could be worse, Vance argued, if the US hadn't responded forcefully to Iran. The most important goal is to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon, he said. "Gas, frankly, could have been much, much higher were it not for our efforts," Vance said. "I'm not going to make a promise about what it's going to return to $3."

• Possible wedding strike: Vance said he's "extremely skeptical" of reports in Iranian state-run media that US forces bombed a wedding ceremony taking place in southern Iran, per the Guardian. "What I can say with 100% confidence is that unlike [Iran], the United States never targets civilians in combat," he said, adding, "But in this particular case, I don't think that we have any information one way or the other. We're investigating because obviously we care." A Times analysis and a weapons expert determined the wedding was struck by a bomb released by US forces. The results of a US investigation of a strike that killed more than 170 people, mostly children, at an Iranian school at the start of the war has not been released. About the wedding report, Vance added, "unfortunately, obviously, sometimes things happen."
• What's next: Vance said "everything" is on the table to lean on Iran, naming economic, military, diplomatic, and covert pressure, per the BBC.