President Donald Trump on Friday said the conflict in Iran was “small potatoes” as he defended Vice President JD Vance for asserting that months of on-and-off attacks in the Middle East are not a “war”. Trump also said the United States may hit Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain “very soon”.

Pickaxe Mountain, located near Iran’s severely damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, is a heavily fortified site that hosts two deeply buried tunnel complexes.

Asked during an Oval Office exchange about Vance’s comments made a day earlier, Trump said US strikes on Iran are now “intermittent” and “a lot of people don’t call it a war.” The conflict has cost US taxpayers more than $37.5 billion and left 18 US service members dead.

“I can understand what he’s saying,” said Trump. He added: “I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing.”

Vance, during a White House press briefing Thursday, rejected the use of the word “war” to describe the US fighting with Iran and steered clear of predicting that the six-month-old conflict would be over by November’s midterm elections, in which Republicans are trying to hang on to their narrow majorities in Congress.

“I wouldn’t call it a war,” Vance said after being asked about whether the fighting could end before voters cast their ballots in the Nov. 3 elections. “Right now, there is no active shooting.”

Vance’s assertion came even as Iran fired at US Gulf ally Kuwait on Thursday in retaliation for rounds of US strikes on Iran earlier in the week.

(With agency inputs)