US President Donald Trump has said he believes the war with Iran will continue until after the November midterm elections and that oil prices will not fall before then.
“I think the war’s going to end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” Trump said of Iran’s leaders on Wednesday.
Trump made the remarks while travelling to Texas for the Republican Party’s first midterm election convention and repeated them at the event. He argued that the short-term economic pain was worth enduring to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Trump faces growing pressure to end the war, which began after the US and Israel attacked Iran in February. His approval ratings have also declined.
The conflict quickly spread across the Middle East as Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and Arab countries that host US military installations.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, has climbed above $100 (£74) three times in the past six months as Iranian attacks forced production shutdowns in Gulf states and disrupted exports through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
In response to attacks on warships and other vessels, the US has also begun striking Iranian tankers and imposed a naval blockade on Iran’s ports.
He added that Iran was “desperate to try and affect the election, so that we can get a nice weak group of people in there” – an apparent reference to the Democrats – “and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon”.
Trump provided no evidence to support his claim about the election timeline. Tehran has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme serves peaceful purposes and denied pursuing nuclear weapons.
Backstory…
The U.S. president initially anticipated that the conflict, now in its seventh month, would conclude within weeks. However, the prolonged fighting and its ripple effects on household costs—ranging from groceries to fuel—have driven a sharp decline in his approval ratings, prompting intensified pressure from fellow party members and key allies to resolve the conflict swiftly.
This political fallout poses a significant threat to the Republican party’s control of Congress ahead of the upcoming midterm elections on November 3.
Seeking to galvanize the party for the November vote, Trump used the convention to rally support, navigating historical mid-term trends where the sitting president’s party routinely loses congressional seats.
Meanwhile, the recent escalation of fighting in the Middle East and attacks on oil facilities across the region have pushed up global fuel prices and the cost of other goods that require shipping.
Oil prices rose to $100 per barrel on Wednesday for the first time since July. Similarly, US diesel prices reached a record high earlier this week, a development that could drive up prices nationwide.
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