US President Donald Trump has said he expects the war between the United States, Israel and Iran to end “immediately after” the US midterm elections, as renewed fighting in and around the Strait of Hormuz pushes energy prices higher.
Trump suggested that Iran was close to collapse but claimed its leadership was continuing the conflict in an attempt to influence the November elections.
“They’re desperate to try and affect the election so that we can get a nice weak group of people in there and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters while traveling to the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday.
He said Iran “can’t hold out any longer” but acknowledged that gas prices could take longer to decline. Trump said prices would fall once Tehran sought an end to the conflict, which has now entered its seventh month.
His comments came after the US and Iran exchanged their largest wave of attacks on shipping since the war began. Iran said it attacked 10 ships, including two US vessels, near the Strait of Hormuz after US forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers.
Iran also launched missiles at a base hosting US forces in Jordan. US officials said the attack caused limited damage and no casualties. Washington said its strikes on the tankers followed two Iranian attempts to attack a US Navy warship.
The escalation has added pressure to global energy markets. Oil prices climbed to their highest levels since late May, with the global benchmark briefly exceeding $100 a barrel for the first time since July.
US motorists have also faced higher fuel costs. The national average gasoline price rose 7.3 cents to $4.22 a gallon on Wednesday, according to AAA, marking the largest one-day increase since May. Diesel prices reached a record $5.94 a gallon.
The Trump administration has taken measures to limit the impact of higher fuel costs, including extending a Jones Act waiver that permits foreign-flagged vessels to transport oil and other commodities between US ports.
The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the conflict. Before the war, about one-fifth of the world’s oil trade passed through the waterway. Iran militarized the strait after US and Israeli strikes began on Feb. 28 and has used attacks on shipping as part of its wider campaign against Washington.
Trump said a negotiated settlement remained possible but was not currently being pursued. He has maintained that the US must continue fighting until the threat of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon is eliminated.
Public support for the conflict has weakened. A late-August Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 31% of Americans supported US strikes on Iran, while 63% opposed them. Another poll found that 61% believed the conflict had made life more expensive for their families.
Despite severe economic pressure from sanctions and war-related disruption, intelligence assessments cited by US media indicate that Iran could be prepared to continue fighting for months. Iranian leaders have also signaled that they may expand attacks on military and commercial shipping.
The prolonged conflict has raised questions within the Trump administration about whether fighting could continue through the remainder of his presidential term.
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