President Donald Trump said the war with Iran could end very soon, possibly immediately after the elections, and predicted that oil prices would fall sharply once fighting stops. He made the remarks at an election rally in Mobile, Alabama.

Trump repeated that the conflict would end soon, one way or another. He said the United States could leave the following day and that Iran would need years to rebuild the damage inflicted by US operations. He also said Tehran had refused to negotiate.

Trump forecasts lower energy prices

Trump said Iran had taken an excessively rigid negotiating position. He put its inflation rate at about 310% and described its economy as having completely collapsed. Those assessments were his account of Iran’s condition.

He predicted that the end of the conflict would bring an immediate fall in oil prices. Al-Youm Al-Sabea reported that he expected prices to return to levels seen before the military escalation, or potentially fall below them.

Before travelling to Alabama, Trump told reporters that ending the war would reduce fuel prices, according to NBC News. He denied that a ban on diesel exports was under consideration and praised what he described as a large European oil contribution, saying the United States would also contribute.

Al-Youm Al-Sabea reported coordinated efforts involving the Trump administration, the Group of Seven and the International Energy Agency to release emergency fuel supplies. It also reported that European countries held large strategic diesel stocks and would contribute alongside Washington.

US officials discuss next steps

Senior US national security officials met for several hours at Camp David on October 2 to discuss the next steps in the war, Axios reported, citing three US officials. The administration did not announce the meeting, and the White House declined to comment.

Vice President JD Vance chaired the meeting. Participants included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to Axios.

Axios reported that Trump was considering resuming major combat operations as negotiations stalled. His prediction of an end to the war after the elections contrasted with a separate report that he was considering new strikes after the November 3 US midterm elections.

Iran responds amid tensions at sea

Mohsen Rezaei, identified by Iranian media as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, rejected Trump’s account. He said Trump could win only in his imagination and that Iran determined reality through its people, soldiers and missiles.

Trump said the US Navy was imposing a blockade and that no Iranian ship had passed through the Strait of Hormuz for months. He also said Iran’s military manufacturing capacity had collapsed.

The New York Times, citing confidential data obtained from an unnamed Western security official, reported an average of 30 drone attacks and 10 anti-ship missile attacks a week against commercial vessels passing through the strait since early August.