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

The president added the US is not looking to restart negotiations with Iran after the failure of previous ceasefire talks.

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday [Brendan Smialowski/AFP]

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.

“This war will end immediately after our election,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday before boarding Air Force One for a trip to Dallas, Texas.

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Trump claimed the Iranian government was stalling an end to the war in order to secure a more favourable political environment in the US.

The Democratic Party is angling to take control of one or both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterms. Currently, 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 said 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 said of Iran.

‘More than a nuclear deal’

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 officials claimed that Iran posed an “imminent” threat to the US and its allies.

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

US intelligence reports have also cast doubt on whether Iran was building a nuclear weapon, though concerns have been raised over its levels of enrichment.

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

Trump had previously withdrawn from a 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that would have restricted the amount of uranium Iran was allowed to enrich.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 talks with Iranians on a nuclear agreement, the president suggested his ambitions were larger.

“I’m doing much more than a nuclear deal. There’s a lot more than nuclear,” Trump said.

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

“We’re not looking for it, to be honest,” Trump said. “Originally, I wanted to make a deal. We’re so far down the line. They have very little country left right now.”

More US strikes to come

Trump’s comments follow remarks from US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who told ABC News on Sunday “there may not” be a nuclear deal.

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

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 said 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.

The war is widely unpopular in the US. A poll last month found that only 31 percent of Americans support the conflict, down from 37 percent in March.

On Wednesday, oil prices rose above $100 a barrel amid renewed US-Iran hostilities, threatening to further increase costs for consumers around the world.

The US military said it struck five Iranian tankers on Tuesday in response to attempted missile attacks on a US Navy warship.

On Wednesday, Trump said more US strikes would follow: “You’re going to see a lot more.”

总统补充说，鉴于之前的停火谈判失败，美国不打算重启与伊朗的谈判。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周三在马里兰州安德鲁斯联合基地登上空军一号前向记者发表讲话。[Brendan Smialowski/AFP]

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普对结束伊朗战争做出了最新预测，暗示战争结束日期可能在即将到来的美国中期选举之后。

“这场战争将在我们的选举结束后立即结束，”特朗普周三在登上空军一号前往德克萨斯州达拉斯之前告诉记者。

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布伦特原油价格突破每桶100美元（共3条），伊朗和美国升级袭击

巴基斯坦称，胡塞武装对沙特阿拉伯发动的3次袭击中的第3次可能触发防务条约。

特朗普声称伊朗政府拖延结束战争是为了在美国获得更有利的政治环境。

民主党正力图在11月3日的中期选举中掌控国会参众两院中的一院或两院。目前，特朗普领导的共和党在两院均保持着微弱多数席位。

特朗普谈到伊朗在立法选举中的策略时说：“他们不顾一切地想影响选举，这样我们就可以安插一群软弱的人进去。”

他暗示伊朗指望民主党人“别管他们，让他们拥有核武器”。

特朗普谈到伊朗时说：“他们想要的只是核武器，如果他们拥有核武器，整个世界都将陷入困境。”

“不仅仅是一项核协议”

2月28日，美以对伊战争爆发，伊朗的核计划是美国和以色列发动战争的关键理由。特朗普及其官员声称，伊朗对美国及其盟友构成“迫在眉睫”的威胁。

然而，伊朗长期以来一直否认寻求核武器，而是辩称其铀浓缩活动仅用于民用能源目的。

美国情报报告也对伊朗是否正在制造核武器表示怀疑，尽管人们对伊朗的铀浓缩水平表示担忧。

战争爆发时，有关伊朗核能计划的谈判仍在进行中，此后六个月的停火谈判中，该问题也反复出现。

特朗普此前退出了 2015 年达成的核协议，即《联合全面行动计划》（JCPOA），该协议本应限制伊朗被允许浓缩的铀的数量。

周三，当被问及美国是否会重启与伊朗就核协议进行的谈判时，总统暗示他的野心更大。

“我做的远不止是核协议。还有很多事情远不止核问题，”特朗普说。

但他也表示，与伊朗的谈判并非美国政府的首要任务。

“说实话，我们并不寻求达成协议，”特朗普说。“最初，我是想达成协议的。现在我们已经走到这一步了。他们现在所剩无几的领土了。”

美国未来还将发动更多罢工

特朗普发表上述言论之前，美国能源部长克里斯·赖特周日告诉美国广播公司新闻网，可能不会达成核协议。

赖特则认为，美国可能会继续发动打击，以削弱伊朗的核基础设施。

在2025年6月伊朗和以色列之间为期12天的战争期间，美国已经对伊朗的三个核设施进行了定点打击。特朗普当时表示，这些打击“摧毁”了伊朗的核计划。

近几个月来，与伊朗的谈判陷入僵局，而特朗普政府在中期选举前继续淡化这场冲突。

这场战争在美国普遍不得人心。上个月的一项民意调查显示，只有31%的美国人支持这场冲突，低于3月份的37%。

周三，由于美伊冲突再度升级，油价突破每桶100美元，这有可能进一步推高全球消费者的成本。

美国军方称，周二袭击了五艘伊朗油轮，以回应伊朗企图用导弹袭击美国海军军舰的行为。

周三，特朗普表示，美国还将发动更多空袭：“你们将会看到更多。”