US President Donald Trump has said he expects the war with Iran to continue until after the November midterm elections.
Trump also predicted that oil prices would fall sharply once the conflict ends, linking the timing to the US election.
“I think the war’s going to end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday.
He made the remarks while travelling to Texas for the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm election convention. He repeated similar comments during his speech at the event. Trump argued that short-term economic pain was necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Tehran has repeatedly denied seeking nuclear weapons.
The US president also accused Iran of trying to influence the upcoming election. “Iran was desperate to try and affect the election,” Trump said, suggesting Tehran wanted a weaker group of lawmakers in Congress who would allow it to pursue nuclear weapons.
Although Trump provided no evidence for the claim, he later told reporters that oil prices would begin “tumbling downward” after the election. At the Texas convention, he said prices would fall “as soon as we win the war with Iran”.
The comments come as Trump faces declining approval ratings and growing pressure from within his Republican Party to end the conflict.
The war is now in its seventh month, despite Trump’s initial prediction that it would last only a few weeks. Its economic impact has spread from fuel prices to groceries and transportation costs.
The US midterm elections are scheduled for November 3. Republicans are seeking to retain control of Congress, but recent polling has raised concerns within the party.
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