Trump plays down Iran war as 'small potatoes'

Against a backdrop of a lack of success in the conflict with Iran, US President Donald Trump is attempting to play down the war against the Islamic Republic.

"I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us. It's not a big thing," he said at a press conference in the Oval Office on Friday, before boasting about his supposed successes.

When asked by a journalist whether the 18 dead members of the US military were "small fry", Trump initially did not respond.

Instead, he boasted that "we're leading in space now by a lot."

Later, he backtracked slightly, saying: "We lost 18 souls, 18 great souls. ... and one is too much." He also added that "in Vietnam, we lost 10s of 1000s of people in Afghanistan."

The US government has been trying for some time to play down the war with Iran. The midterm parliamentary elections are due to take place in around two months' time.

Due to the energy crisis caused by the Strait of Hormuz - which was still open to global oil trade before the conflict but remains effectively blocked - many Americans are struggling with high prices. This is fuelling a lack of enthusiasm for the policies of Trump and the Republicans.

As recently as Thursday, Vice-President JD Vance played down the conflict with Iran during the White House's first official press briefing in weeks.

"I wouldn't call it a war," he told journalists, arguing that there were currently no hostilities taking place. In the months leading up to this, and most recently at the start of the week, the US military had repeatedly targeted Iranian sites.

The US, together with Israel, had launched its latest war against Iran at the end of February.