WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has a new prediction for when the Iran war will end and Americans can expect gas prices to come down: immediately after the midterm elections.
"I think the war is going to end immediately after the election," Trump said on Sept. 9, as he prepared to depart Joint Base Andrews for the GOP's midterm convention
in Dallas. "I think the war will end immediately after the election," he repeated.Iran can't hold out for longer than that, Trump said of the election that's in 55 days. "They're desperate to try and affect the election, so that we can get a nice group of weak people in there, and leave them alone, and let them have their nuclear weapon," Trump said.
Trump has repeatedly referred the conflict as a "detour"
and an "excursion." He initially promised that the war, now stretching into its seventh month, would last only four to five weeks. He and Vice President JD Vance have denied that the conflict, which has involved the United States and Iran trading strikes since late February, is even a war.
The United States says it began the war to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Its goals have evolved to include reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has turned to an economic pressure campaign that involves heavy sanctions and Iran in an attempt to bring the war to a conclusion amid stalled negotiations.
U.S. military forces have also destroyed 10 Iranian oil tankers over the past week in retaliation for attempted Iranian missile attacks on Navy warships.
Iran fired 20 ballistic missiles on Sept. 8 at American forces stationed at the Al-Azraq air base in Jordan. Jordanian Armed Forces said 18 of the missiles were intercepted and the remaining two fell in unpopulated areas. The U.S. said all military personnel were accounted for.
Trump said on Sept. 9 that a deal with Iran to put an end to the conflict is still possible but he's not looking to restart negotiations. The conflict is so far down the line, he said, that the United States is not looking to reopen talks.
"Shortly, but right after the election, because they'd like to have it that way, but right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward," Trump said.
After that, he said, gas is likely to go below $2 a gallon. But Trump said, "I think it's going to take a little bit longer than the midterms."
Contributing: Miles J. Herszenhorn
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump predicts Iran war will end 'immediately after' midterm election
