Trump says Iran war will continue until after US midterm elections

US President Donald Trump has announced that the war against Iran, launched alongside Israel in February 2026, will continue past the November midterm elections. Trump claims Iran is intentionally holding out to influence the vote. The conflict has severely impacted global energy markets, pushing Brent Crude past $100 a barrel and driving US diesel to record highs. While Trump expresses zero regrets and defends the war, polls show 69% of Americans disapprove of his handling of the conflict, prompting other Republican candidates to largely ignore the war on the campaign trail.

US-Iran military conflict

• ▪The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28, 2026, which has lasted more than six months
• ▪Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps claimed its naval forces heavily damaged two US Navy destroyers and eight oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on September 9, 2026, which US Central Command denied
• ▪Jordanian armed forces intercepted 20 Iranian ballistic missiles launched at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base on September 9, 2026, while several US fighter jets at the base sustained damage
• ▪The US military destroyed five oil tankers tied to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps in the Gulf of Oman and northern Gulf on September 8, 2026

Houthi territorial gains Yemen

• ▪Yemen's Houthi rebels captured the strategic island of Mayun in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the mainland coastal town of Dhubab from Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces
• ▪Yemen's Houthi rebels seized the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha, prompting United Nations staff to flee their compound in the city
• ▪The artificial intelligence company Anthropic blocked accounts in Houthi-controlled northern Yemen that were using its Claude AI model to develop software for guiding and stabilizing rockets

Global oil price spike

• ▪Global Brent Crude prices rose above $100 a barrel on September 9, 2026, and touched $108 a barrel on September 11, 2026, driven by Middle East conflict escalations
• ▪US average diesel fuel prices hit an all-time high of nearly $6 a gallon, while regular gasoline rose to an average of $4.22 per gallon by September 9, 2026
• ▪Saudi Arabia temporarily closed its vital East-West oil pipeline on September 11, 2026, following a drone attack launched from Iraqi territory by Iranian-backed militias

Trump midterm election strategy

• ▪An NBC News Decision Desk Poll found that only 31% of US adults approve of President Donald Trump's handling of the Iran war, while 69% disapprove
• ▪US President Donald Trump stated on September 9, 2026, that the war against Iran will not end until after the November 3, 2026, midterm elections
• ▪US President Donald Trump stated on September 9, 2026, that he is no longer actively seeking to negotiate a peace deal with Iranian leadership
• ▪US President Donald Trump accused Iran of intentionally prolonging the war until after the November 2026 midterms to influence the election in favor of a weaker US administration

Republican convention war messaging

• ▪The war with Iran was largely ignored by other Republican speakers and candidates at the party's midterm convention in Dallas, reflecting the conflict's growing unpopularity
• ▪An NBC News Decision Desk Poll showed that strong approval of the Iran war among self-identified Republicans dropped 18 percentage points since the spring of 2026

Trump defends Iran war

• ▪US President Donald Trump stated in a Fox News interview on September 10, 2026, that he has no regrets regarding his prosecution of the Iran war
• ▪US President Donald Trump defended the war against Iran during a September 11, 2026, speech at the Pentagon marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks

Debatable claims

• ▪The United States should actively seek a negotiated peace deal with Iran
• ▪The United States' war against Iran is justified