Trump says Iran war ‘will end immediately’ after US midterm elections

United States President Donald Trump has offered his latest prediction for concluding the war in Iran, indicating that an end date could come after the upcoming US midterm elections.

Key points

• The US already carried out targeted strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025.
• "This war will end immediately after our election, " Trump remarked to journalists on Wednesday before boarding Air Force One for a trip to Dallas, Texas.
• The Democratic Party is angling to take control of one or both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterms.
• When the war against Iran began on February 28, the country's nuclear programme was a key justification that the US and Israel cited for launching hostilities.
• On Wednesday, oil rates rose above $100 a barrel against the backdrop of renewed US-Iran hostilities, threatening to further growth costs for consumers worldwide.

Trump asserted the Iranian administration was stalling an end to the war so as to secure a more favourable political environment in the US.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party is angling to take control of one or both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterms. At present, Trump's Republican Party maintains slim majorities in both.

"They're desperate to try and affect the election so that we can get a nice, weak group of people in there, " Trump remarked of Iran's strategy for the legislative elections.

He suggested that Iran is counting on Democrats to "leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon".

"All they want is a nuclear weapon, and if they had a nuclear weapon, the whole world is in deep trouble, " Trump remarked of Iran. 'More than a nuclear accord'.

When the war against Iran began on February 28, the country's nuclear programme was a key justification that the US and Israel cited for launching hostilities. Trump and his authorities maintained that Iran posed an "imminent" threat to the US and its allies.

Iran, nevertheless, has long denied seeking a nuclear weapon, instead arguing its uranium enrichment is for civilian power purposes only.

Though worries have been raised over its levels of enrichment, US intelligence reports have additionally cast doubt on whether Iran was building a nuclear weapon.

Negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear energy programme were ongoing at the time of the war's launch, and the problem has repeatedly cropped up in ceasefire negotiations in the six months since.

Trump had previously withdrawn from a 2015 nuclear accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that would have restricted the amount of uranium Iran was allowed to enrich.

When asked on Wednesday whether the US would restart discussions with Iranians on a nuclear agreement, the president suggested his ambitions were larger.

"I'm doing much more than a nuclear accord. There's a lot more than nuclear, " Trump remarked.

But he additionally indicated that negotiations with Iran were not a top priority for the US administration.

"We're not looking for it, to be honest, " Trump remarked. "Originally, I wanted to create a agreement. We're so far down the line. They have particularly little country left right now." More US strikes to come.

Trump's comments follow remarks from US Energy Secretary Chris Wright. This person informed ABC News on Sunday "there may not" be a nuclear agreement.

Wright suggested instead that the US may continue to launch strikes to weaken Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the US already carried out targeted strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025. Trump at the time remarked those strikes "obliterated" Iran's nuclear programme.

Negotiations with Iran have floundered in recent months, and the Trump administration has continued to downplay the conflict ahead of the midterm elections.

For context, the war is widely unpopular in the US. A poll last month discovered that only 31 percent of Americans backing the conflict, down from 37 percent in March.

In practice, the US military remarked it struck five Iranian tankers on Tuesday in response to attempted missile attacks on a US Navy warship.

On Wednesday, Trump remarked more US strikes would follow: "You're going to see a lot more."

For now, trump says Iran war 'will end immediately' after US midterm elections remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.