US President Donald Trump has stated he does not believe the war with Iran will end until after the November midterm elections, acknowledging that soaring energy prices will remain a burden until then.
“I think the war’s going to end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” Trump said of Tehran on Wednesday.
He made the comments while heading to Texas for the Republican Party’s midterm election convention, arguing that short-term economic pain is a necessary price to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” Trump told reporters, adding that Iran is “desperate to try and affect the election” to install a “weak group of people” who would allow them to keep their nuclear ambitions.
However, the reality on the ground tells a different story. The conflict is now in its seventh month, and fighting has recently intensified. On Wednesday, the US military announced it had struck five Iranian-linked oil tankers. In response, Tehran launched attacks on two US Navy destroyers and eight oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, claiming to have caused “heavy damage.”
SEE ALSO: US Sinks Iranian Tanker as Tit-for-Tat Strikes Escalate in the Middle East
This tit-for-tat escalation is hitting American wallets hard. The global price of oil hit $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since July, while US diesel prices recently reached an all-time high. The knock-on effects are rippling through everything from fuel to groceries.
Initially, Trump predicted the war would last only a matter of weeks. Instead, the prolonged conflict and its economic fallout have led to a steep decline in his approval ratings. With the midterms approaching on November 3, Republicans are facing growing pressure from within their own ranks to end the war, as voters grow increasingly frustrated at the pump.
For now, the administration is asking the public to endure the financial strain. But as the election draws nearer, the promise of future relief may not be enough to offset the present-day pain of a war that refuses to end.
Promise Idoko is Junior Reporter working with moderncrux He covers global politics and international affairs. Based in Nigeria,
