Trump Forecasts End To Iran War Around November US Midterm Elections

ISTANBUL, Sept 14 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- US President Donald Trump claimed Sunday that Tehran "wants to make a deal" to end the war, forecasting a rapid decline in domestic fuel costs once hostilities cease, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

"Look, it could end before the midterms, but it'll end after the midterms," Trump told reporters in Ireland, where he attended the Amgen Irish Open golf tournament hosted at his Trump International Golf Links resort.

He added that gasoline prices are "going to drop like a rock" following the conclusion of the hostilities. US gasoline prices averaged US$4.31 a gallon Sunday, up from US$4.07 a month earlier and US$3.19 a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).

The US leader noted that Iranian officials are "calling constantly" to secure an agreement, though he cautioned that his administration will only accept a favourable settlement, warning, "I'm not going to make a deal that's no good."

Iran's Mehr News Agency rejected Trump's assertions as "absurd", arguing that the US leader was attempting to justify mounting domestic economic problems fuelled by the confrontation.

Reaffirming the core objective of the military campaign, Trump emphasised that the adversary must be denied nuclear capabilities: "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won't have a nuclear weapon."

Later, upon departing Ireland when asked directly if Washington was responsible for the lethal strike against an Iranian commercial vessel in the Gulf, Trump declined to confirm. "I don't want to say," Trump told reporters. One person was killed and three others were injured in a "US attack" on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Gulf near Qeshm Island in southern Iran early Sunday, according to a local official.

Addressing questions regarding recent diplomatic engagements between Gulf nations and Tehran, the US president dismissed any personal concern. "I don't care. That's up to them," Trump said, before raising the possibility of maintaining an American presence to control regional energy resources. "We will ultimately get out unless we decide to stay and keep the oil, like Venezuela," he added.

The ongoing Iran war, now in its seventh month, has claimed the lives of 18 US servicemembers and triggered sustained volatility across global energy routes.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU