Trump sees Iran war ending soon after mid-term elections, predicts oil prices will then fall sharply

Trump sees Iran war ending 'very soon', oil prices then falling. Trump said he expects the Iran war to end shortly after November’s mid-term elections and oil prices to fall afterward. Oil prices pulled back Friday but posted sharp weekly gains as Brent settled above $104 a barrel and WTI above $100. Regional tensions remain high, with attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure and Houthi advances threatening key shipping routes.

The war in Iran will likely end soon after November's mid-term elections, President Donald Trump said Saturday, and predicted that energy prices would fall sharply once that happens. "I think very soon, I think it'll be right after the mid-terms, actually," Trump said on a trip to Ireland when asked by reporters when the Iran war is likely to end. "I would say shortly, and oil will come tumbling down when that happens."

Oil prices retreated on Friday, but notched sharp weekly gains after soaring above $100 a barrel for the first time in months. Brent crude oil futures , the global benchmark, settled down 2.8% at $104.61 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was down 2.4% to settle at $100.05 per barrel. On Thursday, Brent crude peaked at around $108 a barrel, while WTI hit more than $104.

The price decline came after Iranian state media said Tehran will meet with Gulf states in Oman to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, indicating some diplomacy is taking place despite a week of sharp escalation.

MS NOW quoted a senior government official and a Gulf diplomat as saying that Iranian and Gulf officials will meet in Oman's capital, Muscat, on Monday to sign an agreement that will establish an Iran-Oman shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country will not surrender , adding that it has resisted aggression from the U.S. and Israel.

Pezeshkian's comments ahead of the BRICS Summit in India over the weekend came on the heels of Trump's assertion earlier this week that Iran would have wiped out Israel and the Middle East, and started hitting U.S. cities, if Washington had not taken military action against Iran.

Trump also said Saturday that Iran was likely responsible for attacks on Saudi Arabia's crucial East-West crude oil pipeline. "Well, I think they are. Probably, they are," he said in response to a reporter's question about the attack. Saudi Arabia said Friday that it shut down the pipeline as a precautionary measure after multiple attacks by drones launched from Iraq. The drones targeted the pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions Thursday morning causing fires and some damage, the Saudi government said. Several people were injured in the attacks, it said.

The Saudis have relied on the East-West pipeline to shift crude oil exports away from Persian Gulf as the U.S. and Iran battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz.