Trump: "Iran War Won’t End Until After Midterms; Oil Prices Will Fall Then, Too"

[Financial News]  

U.S. President Donald Trump said on July 9 (local time) that Iran would not abandon its war effort until after the U.S. midterm elections, adding that current high energy prices would also fall only around that time.
The remarks came as the war with Iran, which began on February 28 with the initial goal of a short conflict, entered its seventh month and showed signs of becoming protracted. With the Strait of Hormuz blocked after the war began and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a gateway to the Suez Canal, now also under threat, Trump acknowledged that the war with Iran would not end before the midterm elections.
International oil prices again surpassed $100 a barrel on the day as tensions escalated around the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. November-delivery Brent crude rose above $101 a barrel, reaching its highest closing price since May 22.
According to foreign media outlets including CNN and CNBC, Trump made the remarks to reporters while traveling to Texas to attend the Republican Party’s midterm election convention.
He said Iran would prolong the war until the midterm elections in an effort to deal him a political blow. As a result, he explained, the surge in oil prices would "last a little longer than the midterm elections."
Trump stressed that Iran hopes the Republican Party will lose the midterm elections and create a favorable environment for Tehran. If the Republican Party loses its majority in Congress to the Democratic Party, Iran would benefit, he said.
Trump claimed, "They are desperately trying to influence the election," adding, "They want to use this to put appeasing forces that treat them moderately in control of Congress, leave them alone, and ultimately allow them to obtain nuclear weapons."
However, he said Iran was on the verge of collapse and would seek to end the war immediately after the midterm elections. "They can’t hold out any longer," he added.
Trump said the Republican Party must win this election to put an end to Iran’s nuclear weapons program. "All of you should ask yourselves, ‘Are we going to allow Iran to have nuclear weapons?’" he said, emphasizing, "The answer is no."
[email protected] Song Kyung-jae Reporter