President Donald Trump said Wednesday he believes the war with Iran will end after the U.S. midterm elections, predicting Tehran will eventually be forced to back down once the vote is over. Speaking to reporters before traveling to Dallas for the Republican National Convention, Trump said elevated oil prices driven by the conflict are unlikely to ease before November. His comments came as Brent crude rose above $100 a barrel for the first time since July after a fresh escalation in hostilities between the United States and Iran.
Trump's comments appeared to rest on the assumption that Iranian leaders are waiting to see the outcome of the U.S. midterm elections before changing course. He suggested that Tehran wants a weaker American political leadership in place after the vote, though he did not specify whether he was referring to control of Congress, the White House's political influence, or the broader U.S. political landscape. "I think the war's going to end immediately after the election because they can't hold out any longer," Trump said.
"They’re desperate to 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. All they want is their nuclear weapon, and if they have a nuclear weapon, the whole world is in deep trouble." He added, "Originally I wanted to make a deal [with Iran]. We're so far down the line.
They have very little country left right now. So we're not looking for, yes, a negotiation could possibly happen, but it's not something we're looking at. This war will end immediately after our election." The remarks mark one of Trump's clearest predictions yet about the duration of the conflict.
At the outset of the war, the president said the fighting would last only a matter of weeks. The conflict is now in its seventh month. This is a breaking news article.
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