White House slams ‘fake narrative’ that Vance is absent from Iran strikes amid Operation Epic Fury

White House officials balked at reporting that Vice President JD Vance had been distant from Operation Epic Fury as strikes continued from both Iran and U.S.-Israeli forces in the Middle East Tuesday. 

Critics have claimed that Vance has intentionally distanced himself from public appearances and potentially negotiations related to U.S. active military engagement in Iran and the Middle East. 

"This fake narrative is absolutely laughable to every single person who is in the know in Washington," a White House official told Fox News Digital. "It’s a classic mainstream media creation."

ABC News had reported that a senior White House official punched back at the idea that Vance wasn’t present during the early days of the strikes, saying the national security team had been huddled "all day" and "was deliberate on letting the president's statements and addresses to the nation stand as the operation unfolded."

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"The vice president and other administration officials conducted multiple media interviews and will continue to do so," the senior White House official told ABC. "The national security team also held multiple briefing calls with members of the press and key stakeholders after the operation began."

Vance appeared on Fox News’ "Jesse Watters Primetime" March 2, making him the first Trump administration official outside of President Donald Trump’s pre-recorded announcement to speak on live TV about the strikes. The interview was one of nine reported public appearances Vance has made since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury.

During the interview, Vance emphasized the White House’s reasoning behind striking Iran and addressed the idea of an unnecessary, elongated war.

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"President Trump will not get the United States into a years-long conflict with no clear objective," Vance told Watters. 

"The vice president hasn’t been keeping a low profile," a spokesperson for Vice President Vance’s office told Fox News Digital. "He’s attended two dignified transfers at Dover Air Force Base, went on primetime TV after the start of Operation Epic Fury, held a press gaggle and delivered two speeches in which he discussed the heroic sacrifice of America’s service members."

Dignified transfers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware took place after American soldiers were killed during the beginning days of the U.S. military operation against Iran.

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Reports have also indicated that Vance has been averse to the idea of a war with Iran and alluded to comments the former Ohio senator made about some of the basis for his support for Trump stemming from Trump not having started a war during his first presidential term.

Vance joined Bill Hemmer on Fox News’ "America’s Newsroom" for a State of the Union reaction on Feb. 25, days before the strike on Iran, and Vance echoed the president’s condemnation of the Middle Eastern country obtaining nuclear weapons. 

"You can't let the craziest and worst regime in the world have nuclear weapons," Vance told Hemmer. "That's what the president is accomplishing. That's what the president has set as our goal. He's going to try to accomplish it diplomatically.

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"The president has a number of other tools at his disposal to ensure this doesn't happen," Vance continued. "He's shown a willingness to use them, and I hope the Iranians take it seriously in their negotiations tomorrow, because that's certainly what the president prefers."

With regard to the status of the ongoing conflict and his involvement with strategy itself, Vance addressed reporters at an event in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Friday, saying negotiations among White House officials are classified but noting he has been involved with discussions.

"I sit there with [Secretary of War] Pete Hegseth and [Joint Chiefs Air Force] Gen. [Dan] Caine and [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio and the entire White House team, and the president and I and the entire senior team are talking about the options and about what we need to do and about how we must best protect the American people," Vance told reporters. 

"I'm not going to show up here and in front of God and everybody else, tell you exactly what I said in that classified room, partially because I don't want to go to prison and partially because I think it's important for the president of the United States to be able to talk to his advisors without those advisors running their mouth to the American media."