US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he expects the war with Iran to end “immediately after” the US midterm elections, arguing that Tehran is attempting to influence the vote in hopes of facing a weaker Congress.
Speaking to reporters before departing for Dallas, Trump was asked about the continued conflict with Iran and the sharp rise in oil prices.
“I think the war will end immediately after the election,” Trump said. “I think the war will end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer.”
Trump then accused Iran of attempting to influence the November vote: “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,” he said. “All they want is a nuclear weapon, and if they had a nuclear weapon, the whole world is in deep trouble.”
Trump’s remarks came as oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel amid renewed US-Iran military action. He acknowledged that Americans are paying higher prices but again framed the conflict around preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
.@POTUS: “I think the war will end immediately after the election… They’re desperate to try and affect the election so that we could get a nice, weak group of people in there and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon.” https://t.co/MV7GDA8e4q pic.twitter.com/fOuJfUpohm
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 9, 2026
“All you have to do is say, ‘Will you let Iran have a nuclear weapon?’ And the answer is no,” Trump said. He claimed Iran’s economy was in severe distress, citing high inflation, a weakened currency and difficulties paying its military.
“We control the strait and lots of other things,” he added.
Trump predicts reduction in oil, gas prices
Trump predicted that energy prices would begin falling after the midterms. “Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” he said. “They’re going to be tumbling down, and we’ll get them down. I think for gasoline, we’ll get them below $2 a gallon.”
He cautioned, however, that the decline would not come before the vote. “But not until after the midterms,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to take a little bit longer than the midterm.”
Asked about the latest US attacks on Iranian assets, Trump said Washington was responsible for the strikes and signaled that more could follow. “The attacks are made by us,” Trump said. “We’ve knocked out nine of their ships. I would say that the attacks are caused by us. Yeah, and you’re going to see a lot more.”
He later said the United States had “taken out about nine of their tankers.” Trump was also asked whether a nuclear agreement with Tehran remained possible after Energy Secretary Chris Wright reportedly suggested such a deal might no longer be on the table.
“I’m doing much more than a nuclear deal,” Trump replied. “There’s a lot more than nuclear. We’re going to have nuclear. That’s 99.9, but there’s going to be a lot of other things on the table that wouldn’t have been on the table three months ago.”
Trump responds to UK’s West Bank sanctions
Trump also addressed for the first time the sanctions announced by Britain, France and Canada targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The measures have prompted a sharp response from Israel, including a demand that Britain close its East Jerusalem consulate within 30 days.
Asked for his reaction and whether he opposed the measures, Trump said he had only just learned of them. “Well, I’ve just seen it, and I’ll be speaking to Israel,” Trump said. “I’ll be speaking to them, and I’ll find out what their thinking is. I understand, you know, I understand exactly what’s going on, but I want to find out why all of a sudden that has happened.”
The comments were more cautious than those of US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who has publicly condemned the sanctions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also previously declined to directly endorse or condemn the British move, while saying Washington did not want to see “anything destabilizing” in the West Bank.
