Trump says Iran war likely to continue until after US midterm elections
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
President Donald Trump said the conflict with Iran will probably persist until after the November midterm elections and that oil prices will not fall until then.
President Donald Trump told reporters that he expects the war with Iran to continue until after the November midterm elections, adding that oil prices are unlikely to decline before that date.
"I think the war's going to end immediately after the election because they can't hold out any longer," Trump said on Wednesday. He made the remarks while traveling to Texas for the Republican Party's first convention of the election year. The comments came as oil prices rose to $100 a barrel, the highest level since July, amid renewed fighting in the Middle East. "Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward," he added, noting that the decline might take a little longer than the midterms themselves. Trump also suggested that Iran was attempting to influence the election, implying that a Democratic victory would be “a nice weak group of people” and that Tehran would then be left to develop its nuclear program. He said further negotiations with Iran were possible but not currently being pursued. The conflict, now in its seventh month, has escalated after a 60-day cease-fire expired, with U.S. forces reporting attacks on five oil tankers linked to Iran and Iran responding by striking two U.S. Navy destroyers and eight tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The fighting has contributed to higher global fuel costs and raised concerns about rising interest rates in the United States.