President Donald Trump said he expects the war with Iran to end after November's US midterm elections as both sides launched their heaviest wave of attacks on shipping since the six-month conflict began. He also renewed threats to strike Pickaxe Mountain in a fortified site linked to Iran's nuclear programme.
Tensions escalated further as Saudi authorities issued repeated emergency alerts amid clashes with Yemen's Houthi rebels while Brent crude held above $100 a barrel due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea. Iran said it struck 10 ships near Hormuz after the US sank five Iranian tankers.
Trump claimed Tehran was trying to influence the midterms, calling the war "going to end immediately" after the vote. However Wall Street Journal reported that senior advisers including VP JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio privately fear the conflict could extend through his presidency.
Separately Trump pledged a $5,000 "Trump Dividend" to every American adult if Republicans retain Congress a plan critics say would cost over $1 trillion and worsen the $1.8 trillion deficit. Vance later suggested the payments might exclude wealthy Americans are possibly funded through tariff revenue though that sum falls far short of the promised total.
Budget experts called the proposal fiscally unrealistic with noting the US is running $2 trillion annual deficits with $40 trillion in national debt. Legal experts said the payment would likely be lawful since it would apply regardless of how people vote.
Republicans face a tough midterm battle with Trump's approval near record lows amid public opposition to the war.
