Updated

President Donald Trump told reporters on Sept. 9-10, 2026 that he expected the ongoing U.S. war with Iran to continue until after the November midterm elections, arguing that Iran "can't hold out any longer," and he linked elevated U.S. fuel prices to the conflict's duration. Democracy Now! led its Sept. 10 headlines with the prediction, while Just Security's Sept. 10 Early Edition noted that the president's public confidence contradicted warnings he had received in a closed-door discussion with advisers. In follow-up comments reported the same day, Trump said he did not regret going to war with Iran and that if faced with the decision again, "I would do exactly as I did," rejecting suggestions that parts of his political base were demoralized. The remarks were significant because they tied an open-ended foreign military campaign directly to the domestic election calendar at a moment when gasoline and energy costs were a central pocketbook issue for American voters. They also underscored a gap between the administration's public messaging and internal assessments of how long the conflict could last. With shipping disrupted near the Strait of Hormuz and oil prices climbing, the president's timeline set expectations that U.S. households would face higher energy costs for at least two more months.