The first reports of military action by the United States and Israel against Iran last Saturday used careful language. At 2:31 a.m. ET, the Associated Press wire service reported, “The United States is participating in the Israeli strikes against Iran.”
At 5:01 a.m. ET, AP published an update: “Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed in a statement the country had begun responding to the joint strikes, saying its armed forces had ‘commenced a decisive response to these hostile acts.’”
Who, and what, determines which news is fit to publish?
About an hour before sunrise, its reports began referring to the exchange of hostilities as a war.
The next day, AP published the rationale for this description, saying the term “reflects the scope and intensity of the fighting.”
Citing the Merriam-Webster dictionary’s definition of war – “A state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations” – AP said: “Even though none of the countries have officially declared war, the attacks by the United States and Israel, combined with Iran’s retaliation, meet those criteria.”
It is not, however, using upper case for “war,” as doing so would indicate the conflict has a proper name.
The Globe and Mail is taking the same approach, and there is general agreement among journalists that this usage of “war” is correct, even though there has been discussion about whether U.S. President Donald Trump had the authority to order those first strikes.
“The Constitution grants Congress the sole power to declare war,” the United States Senate explains on its website. (Congress comprises the House of Representatives and the Senate, which are separate legislative bodies.)
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However, the Senate has made that declaration only 11 times, most recently in 1942. “Congress approved its last formal declaration of war during World War II,” the Senate website continues.
Of course, the U.S. has participated in wars since then. History books refer to wars in Korea (1950-53); Vietnam (1955-75); the Gulf (1990-91 and 2003-2011) and Afghanistan (2001-21). Each met the “dictionary definition” test used by Associated Press: Military strikes were exchanged.
While news organizations have control over the consistency of language they use to describe the war in Iran, readers should keep in mind that politicians, other media outlets and news influencers have their own agendas.
“It should go without saying that any statement that comes from either side in the middle of a war aims to manipulate our understanding of the facts on the ground. The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran are no exception,” wrote journalist Jon Greenberg, a faculty member of the non-profit Poynter Institute for Media Studies, in a recent blog post.
He cautioned that “facts are slippery when bombs, drones and missiles are flying” and that “American officials selectively frame reality.”
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For example, on March 2, after the war was under way, Mr. Trump called it “our last, best chance to strike,” indicating the first attacks were pre-emptive and had to happen. Yet, as Mr. Greenberg wrote, “The Associated Press reported that two White House officials told congressional staff that Iran was not preparing to strike.”
Iran, too, has disseminated questionable information.
On March 1, the Agence France-Presse wire service reported: “Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they attacked the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf after U.S. and Israeli strikes killed the country’s supreme leader.” Some reports included images of the carrier damaged or sinking in the water.
But, according to a fact check by Associated Press: “Many images said to show the aftermath of a strike on the USS Abraham Lincoln are years old. For example, an image of a ship sinking into the ocean with a helicopter hovering above has appeared online since at least 2021. A video of a ship engulfed in flames and billowing smoke appeared in a Facebook post from June 2025.”
The United States Central Command said the carrier had not been hit and was still launching aircraft.
As Globe and Mail contributor David Shribman wrote on Wednesday, “Like all military conflicts – especially the beginnings of armed combat – there is an enormous amount of confusion and many moving parts that constitute the fog of war.”
Readers should keep in mind that details, such as casualty counts, are likely to change as early reports are corrected and additional information becomes available.