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

[Financial News]  

U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 9th (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 then.
The remarks came as the Iran war, which began on February 28 with the initial aim 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 in the Red Sea, a gateway to the Suez Canal, now also under threat, Trump acknowledged that the Iran war would not end before the midterm elections.
International oil prices rose above $100 per barrel again on the day as tensions escalated in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. November Brent crude futures surpassed $101 per barrel, reaching their highest closing level 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 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, elevated oil prices would last "a little longer than the midterms."
Trump stressed that Iran hoped the Republican Party would lose the midterm elections and create a favorable environment for Tehran. If the Republican Party surrendered 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 conciliatory forces in control of Congress—forces that treat them moderately and leave them alone, ultimately allowing 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 the election to bring Iran’s nuclear weapons program to an end. "All of you have to ask yourselves, ‘Are we going to allow Iran to have nuclear weapons?’" he said, emphasizing, "The answer is no."


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