Trump Promises End to Iran War After Midterms

President Donald Trump speaks on stage on the first day of the 2026 Republican National Convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Sept.

9, 2026. —Brandon Bell—Getty Images President Donald Trump said he expects the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran to end “immediately after” the midterm elections .

Trump suggested that Iran is on the verge of collapse, but that its government is holding out in hopes of hurting Republican political prospects in November.

“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,” Trump told reporters as he headed to the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday.

But “they can’t hold out any longer,” he said.

Trump added that “it’s going to take a little bit longer than the midterm” for gas prices to come down, but that they would fall once Iran soon seeks an end to the war, which is now in its seventh month.

Trump’s comments come as renewed fighting , including a barrage of tit-for-tat strikes in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, has driven up energy prices to their highest levels since late May.

The global benchmark oil price topped $100 a barrel for the first time since July.

The national average for gasoline in the U.S. climbed 7.3 cents to $4.22 a gallon on Wednesday, the largest single day increase since May, according to AAA .

Diesel reached a record $5.94 a gallon on Wednesday.

The Trump Administration has sought to tamp down rising energy prices amid growing affordability concerns among Americans.

Last month, the Administration extended the Jones Act Waiver for another 90 days, allowing foreign-flagged vessels to transport oil and other commodities between U.S. ports.

U.S. and Iran exchange biggest attack on shipping On Tuesday and Wednesday, the U.S. and Iran exchanged the largest wave of attacks on shipping since the war began.

Iran said it attacked 10 ships, including two U.S. vessels, near the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. destroyed five Iranian oil tankers.