Iran-US war latest: Trump says conflict won’t end until after November midterm elections
Donald Trump has said he believes the war with Iran will end “immediately” after the US midterm elections, as fighting continued to escalate this week with the biggest wave of attacks on shipping so far.
Iran said on Wednesday it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the US sank five Iranian oil tankers. At least one seafarer was reported killed and another was missing.
Trump accused Iran of trying to influence the midterm election and said Tehran wanted to secure a “nice, weak group of people” who would leave it alone to develop nuclear weapons.
He also warned Iran that the US could strike Pickaxe Mountain, saying: “We notice there’s a little activity at Pickaxe. I would advise Iran not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard.”
Iran has also threatened to escalate its response to further attacks, with the Revolutionary Guard saying it would soon release maps of an expanded off-limits maritime zone extending towards Chabahar, near Pakistan.
The attacks sent the price of oil surging, with benchmark Brent crude futures breaching $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since July.
