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Vance Says Iran Conflict Is Not a War, Declines to Offer Timeline for End

Vice President JD Vance speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
Vice President JD Vance speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
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Vance Says Iran Conflict Is Not a War, Declines to Offer Timeline for End

Vice President JD Vance speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
Vice President JD Vance speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP)

US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said the fighting between the United States and Iran was not a war and declined to provide a timeline for when the conflict would be over, underscoring the challenge the Trump administration faces as the hostilities enter their seventh month and midterm elections loom.

His comments come as Washington and Tehran exchanged back-and-forth attacks this week after a period of relative calm, with no diplomatic talks with the Iranians underway to end the ‌conflict.

The war ‌has dragged down President Donald Trump's approval ratings and ‌driven ⁠up gas prices, ⁠raising the stakes for Republican candidates fighting to preserve their party's narrow congressional majorities in November.

In a briefing at the White House, Vance touted US efforts to facilitate oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranians have disrupted maritime traffic since the war started, crediting Washington's actions with helping to avert a broader global energy crisis.

He pushed back on describing the conflict as a "war," saying the US ⁠has ended major combat operations with Iran, despite renewed ‌fighting this week. He said Washington's focus ‌now was to ensure Tehran cannot keep disrupting commercial oil shipping.

"I wouldn't call it ‌a war," Vance said. "Right now there's no active shooting. I recognize there's ‌been places where this has flared up."

The US maintains more than 50,000 troops in the Middle East. The Trump administration has surged assets into the region, including nearly 20 warships focused on a blockade. In some instances, troops have been deployed for longer ‌than expected and have been pulled from Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

Asked repeatedly about the timeline on the war, ⁠Vance said an end ⁠would require a halt in Iranians shooting at commercial shipping.

"When will the Iranians stop shooting at ships? I think the reality is I don't know the answer to that question," he said.

He also ruled out any negotiations as long as Tehran continued to target commercial shipping.

While the most intense fighting has subsided, the recurring exchange of fire and the lack of a definitive end to the war have kept global oil prices elevated.

On Tuesday, the United States launched airstrikes on Iran, hitting what it said were military targets along the coast in retaliation for Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The sudden escalation of the war has caused a surge in oil prices to levels unseen since July.

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World

‘Stay Home!’: Tourists Find Themselves in a France Convulsed by Protests

A car burns at Republique square during a protest against rising living costs, joining students' grievances, in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP)
A car burns at Republique square during a protest against rising living costs, joining students' grievances, in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP)
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‘Stay Home!’: Tourists Find Themselves in a France Convulsed by Protests

A car burns at Republique square during a protest against rising living costs, joining students' grievances, in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP)
A car burns at Republique square during a protest against rising living costs, joining students' grievances, in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP)

Upon arriving at a blockaded and closed Louvre after a more than 20-hour plane journey from Australia, Anne Boland had advice for tourists planning to visit Paris.

"Stay home!" the 73-year-old pensioner told AFP on Monday outside the world's most visited museum, after a weekend of unrest that rocked some of the French capital's most iconic streets and squares.

She was one of thousands of visitors scrambling to navigate the City of Light as marches, traffic delays and wafting tear gas snarl the capital's 14-billion-euro ($16-billion) tourism industry.

A small group of protesters was blocking the entrance to the Louvre's famous glass pyramid, following days of mass protests that also spilled into some of the worst street violence France has seen in recent years.

Cycling through the city the day before, expecting charming Haussmann buildings, mansard roofs and corner cafes, Peter, a Dutch tourist, found himself touring a "war zone".

"It was terrible -- debris from fires everywhere, glass on the pavement," the 63-year-old, who declined to give his last name, said.

Some shrugged off the disruptions. But almost all seemed caught off guard upon arriving at the Louvre, their plans suddenly cancelled.

Turned away, many resorted to selfies and photos in front of the former palace.

Roughly half a million people turned out across France on Saturday to denounce the surging cost of living, a culmination of earlier protests led by high school students demanding better conditions at their schools.

The Yellow Vests movement, which organized the weekend's rallies, has called for more protests this coming Saturday, as the government mulls partial, targeted curfews.

- 'A disaster' -

The closure of the Louvre meant just one more detour for Anne and her husband Pat Boland, also 73, whose airline lost their luggage during the voyage.

"It's just a disaster," said Pat with a laugh.

"We were here at this exact spot seven years ago, and the queues were too long," said Anne.

Having visited the museum twice, she's yet to go inside.

"We don't want to get involved. We want to stand back and get away from them," Pat said of the protests.

"But we don't want to go against them either," Anne hastened to add, noting a trend of cost-of-living protests cropping up across the world recently, including in Ireland and Australia.

At the weekend, taxi drivers at Charles de Gaulle international airport warned arriving passengers that they might not be able to make it to their destination if protesters blocked their routes.

A headline in a newspaper in Wales, in the UK, wondered if France would be safe for families to visit for the upcoming school holiday, and the US embassy called on its nationals to exercise caution.

But many in the city carried on in typical Parisian style: a video broadcast by America's CBS news showed a couple drinking on a city terrace, unfazed by a nearby fire in the road.

"We haven't seen anything concerning," said Glenda Manna, 62, a university professor in town from the United States.

But as the protests capture the attention of news channels -- and politicians -- around the world, there are incessant messages from family members back home pleading with them to "tell me you're safe," added her mother, Dorothy Hill, 82.

World

Iran Says US Responsible for ‘Insecurity’ in Hormuz Strait

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shake hands after their meeting at Iran's Foreign Ministry in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shake hands after their meeting at Iran's Foreign Ministry in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP)
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Iran Says US Responsible for ‘Insecurity’ in Hormuz Strait

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shake hands after their meeting at Iran's Foreign Ministry in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shake hands after their meeting at Iran's Foreign Ministry in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP)

Iran's top diplomat on Monday accused the United States of being responsible for the "insecurity" in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been at the heart of the conflict between the foes.

"The war imposed by the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel), combined with the economic blockade, constitutes the principal source of insecurity in our region," said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, having previously referred to "the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz".

He was speaking during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who arrived in Tehran earlier Monday, in his first visit since the outbreak of the Middle East war as Moscow seeks to play a mediating role.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Sunday that the trip would focus on "regional and international developments".

Lavrov was scheduled to meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and hold talks with his counterpart Abbas Araghchi, according to the Russian foreign ministry.

The veteran diplomat has said Moscow's efforts are "aimed at preventing the return of a large-scale war", with talks stalled between Tehran and Washington.

His visit comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin told Pezeshkian in early October that Moscow was prepared to contribute to mediation efforts.

Russia and Iran, two of the most heavily sanctioned nations in the world, maintain close ties. Their military and economic cooperation has only increased since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Middle East war began in February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Despite a ceasefire in April, followed by a US-Iran memorandum of understanding in June, hostilities in and around the Strait of Hormuz have not stopped.

Iran claims control over the strategic waterway -- through which one-fifth of the world's hydrocarbons pass in normal times -- and regularly targets vessels that cross without its authorization.

In response, Washington has been maintaining a naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports.

The Russian foreign ministry said discussions during Lavrov's visit were expected to focus on "ways to resolve the acute international crisis triggered by the unlawful aggression of the US and Israel against Iran".

The ministry said the war had been a blow to stability and security "not only in the near and Middle East, but also on a global scale".

World

Carney Says Cause of Fire at Alberta Military Base Still Unknown

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks about the incident at CFB Wainwright as he rises in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks about the incident at CFB Wainwright as he rises in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Carney Says Cause of Fire at Alberta Military Base Still Unknown

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks about the incident at CFB Wainwright as he rises in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks about the incident at CFB Wainwright as he rises in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada’s ‌Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday the cause of a fire that killed at least four military members and injured dozens of others in Alberta on Saturday is still not known.

In an address to Parliament, Carney said soldiers and reserve members ‌were conducting ‌live-fire exercises at ‌an ⁠army base in Wainwright ⁠while a fire was burning in the training area.

“Driven by ferocious winds, the fire jumped nearly a kilometer in less than a minute to ⁠where soldiers were gathered,” Carney ‌said.

He ‌added 50 investigators are currently on the ‌ground, from the army and ‌the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, to determine how the disaster happened.

"This loss touches every corner of ‌the nation," Carney said.

Officials said 39 people remain hospitalized, with ⁠19 ⁠people in critical condition. The soldiers and reserve members were preparing to deploy to Latvia, where Canadian forces have their largest international military operation.

The incident comes as Albertans vote Monday in a referendum about whether residents want to pursue a legally binding vote on seceding from Canada.