Iran War Day 189: White House Downplays War in Press Conference, as U.S. Diesel Prices Hit Record High
The American Conservative · R · trust 65/100
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... In a Thursday press conference , Vice President J.D. Vance sought to play down the seriousness of the ongoing war with Iran. “I wouldn’t call it a war,” he said in response to a question, adding that—despite multiple exchanges with Iran this week—the U.S. was no longer conducting “major combat operations.” The vice president also said he was unsure when the conflict would end, and expressed skepticism concerning reports the U.S. military had killed civilians in a Tuesday strike on a residential area (though he noted the claims were under review). U.S. Central Command has separately confirmed it is looking into the incident.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country continues to seek regime change in Iran. “I am confident in our ability to remove this threat once and for all—in other words, to topple this regime,” the Israeli leader stated in a Thursday meeting with the IDF’s general staff. “That is the central mission that still lies ahead of us, but it is close. It is not impossible. It is within reach.”
Oil prices remained elevated, with U.S. diesel prices hitting a record high of $5.85 per gallon on Friday. (Because of diesel’s importance in freight and delivery, spikes in its price can have outsize effects on broader inflation.) Brent crude was trading at around $90 per barrel Friday morning, and the average price of gas in the U.S. is $4.15, according to AAA.
Luke Nicastro is a senior editor at The American Conservative. Before joining the magazine, he spent nearly a decade working on defense and foreign policy in both government and industry, most recently as National Security Advisor to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley. He has also worked at the Congressional Research Service, the Department of the Navy, the National Defense University, and several defense contractors.
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