U.S. President Donald Trump said the war in Iran could end “very soon,” likely shortly after November’s midterm elections, and predicted that energy prices would drop sharply once that happens. He made the remarks while speaking to reporters during a trip to Ireland.
Trump said he expects the conflict to end “right after the midterms,” adding that oil prices would “come tumbling down” afterward. His comments came as oil markets remained highly sensitive to military and political tensions across the Middle East.
Oil prices pulled back on Friday but still posted strong weekly gains. Global benchmark Brent crude futures settled down 2.8% at $104.61 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 2.4% to $100.05 per barrel. On Thursday, Brent had climbed to around $108 a barrel and WTI rose above $104.
The decline followed reports from Iranian state media that Tehran will meet Gulf states in Oman to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that diplomacy is still underway despite a week of sharp escalation.
MS NOW, citing a senior government official and a Gulf diplomat, reported that Iranian and Gulf officials will meet on Monday in Muscat, the capital of Oman, to sign an agreement establishing an Iran-Oman shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
At the same time, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country would not surrender, adding that Iran had withstood aggression from the U.S. and Israel. Speaking late Friday to Indian religious leaders in New Delhi, he said Iran had “successfully stood against Israel and the U.S.” and would not yield to “bullying arrogance.” The remarks came ahead of the BRICS Summit in India.
Attack on Saudi pipeline
Trump also said he believes Iran was likely behind attacks on Saudi Arabia’s key East-West crude oil pipeline. Asked by a reporter about the incident, he replied: “Well, I think they are. Probably, they are.”
Saudi Arabia said Friday that it had shut down the pipeline as a precaution after multiple drone attacks launched from Iraq. According to the Saudi government, strikes in the Riyadh and Medina regions on Thursday morning caused fires and some damage to infrastructure. Several people were also reported injured.
The East-West pipeline, which has a capacity of 7 million barrels per day, is a critical route for Saudi Arabia because it allows crude exports to move from the Persian Gulf to Red Sea terminals while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said emergency teams were deployed after the attack to secure the pipeline and assess its safety. Trump added that he had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the incident.
Houthi advances and shipping risks
The U.S. president also said Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels had been in contact with his administration. According to Trump, “The Houthis called us and they don’t want to fight with us.”
At the same time, several news outlets citing Yemeni government sources reported that the Houthis advanced on Friday toward Yemen’s strategic Perim Island. That could strengthen the group’s push to control one of the world’s most important maritime choke points. According to those reports, the move came just one day after the Houthis seized the port city of Mokha on the Red Sea coast. CNBC said it could not independently confirm the report.
Analysts see the rapid ground offensive as a major setback for Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni forces it backs, while increasing the risk that Iran and its proxies could gain control over two energy-critical chokepoints on either side of the Arabian Peninsula: the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz.
Perim Island is a small rocky island that divides the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the waterway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and global markets. Markets are increasingly concerned that the Houthi advance toward that strait could have serious implications for global trade, especially if the group escalates threats or attacks on Red Sea shipping.
MS NOW later reported that the Houthi advance prompted the Saudi crown prince to personally press Trump for U.S. military intervention.
