WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that oil prices that have surged because of the Iran war likely won’t come down until after U.S. midterm elections.
Oil prices on Wednesday jumped more than 3%, pushing international Brent crude past the $100 threshold for the first time since July as salvos between the U.S. and Iran escalated.
“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to take a little bit longer than the midterm.”
Trump, in an exchange with reporters before traveling to Dallas for the midterm Republican convention, added that he believes Iran will finally relent after the pivotal elections are held in the U.S.
“They’re desperate to try and affect the election, so that we can get a nice weak group of people in there, and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon,” Trump said. He added, “I think the war’s going to end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” Trump said.
The president at the outset of the war said it would last a matter of weeks. The conflict is now in its seventh month. The U.S.-Israel war against Iran has led to a dramatic slowdown of Gulf oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz, which about 20% of the world’s petroleum passed through prior to the conflict.
The comments were a striking acknowledgment from Trump about the status of the conflict as his Republican administration faces mounting pressure to address high gas prices as the war in Iran grinds on with no conclusion in sight.
Trump last week downplayed the conflict as “small potatoes” even as Republicans expressed concern the war will loom large with voters left navigating elevated gas prices and higher inflation.
The U.S. has tapped its strategic petroleum reserves, which in early August fell below 300 million barrels, down by more than 100 million barrels since the start of 2026.
Trump's prediction that the war won't be wrapped up until after Nov. 3 comes after Vice President JD Vance last week steered clear of predicting that the conflict would be over by the midterm elections, in which Republicans are trying to hang on to their narrow majorities in Congress.
Vance told reporters he didn’t want to set “artificial timelines” for the war's end.
“But when you ask, ‘When will this end?’ You’re asking me a question like, ‘When will the Iranians stop shooting at ships?’” Vance said. “I think the reality is, I don’t know the answer to that question. You would have to ask the Iranians.”
U.S. benchmark crude on Wednesday stood at around $96 a barrel, and U.S. gasoline prices rose sharply overnight.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline ticked up 7 cents overnight t o hit $4.22, now more than a dollar above what it cost at this point last year, according to AAA.
Diesel prices, which can have an outsize impact on consumers because it is used in shipping and production, hit an all-time high Friday and have continued to climb since. The average price per gallon rose to $5.94 overnight, up 9 cents from Friday.
Jet fuel has become so expensive that U.S. and international carriers have cut flights while raising fares and fees.
The latest market gyrations come after the U.S. military reported striking five Iranian tankers in response to attempted missile attacks on a Navy warship and after attacks by an Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group ignited fires at oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
AP writer Cathy Bussewitz contributed reporting.
President Donald Trump talks with reporters after an emergency inflatable slide deployed on Air Force One before before Trump arrived to board at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Six goals for Paris Saint-Germain, five for Barcelona and classically just one for Arsenal as the serious contenders for the Champions League started with wins Wednesday.
There was a hat trick for Ferran Torres, the World Cup-winning goalscorer, on his PSG debut in the competition, and two goals for his new teammate Ousmane Dembélé in a 6-1 beating of Slovan Bratislava by the two-time title holder.
At Barcelona, Raphinha scored two more in his rapid-fire start to the season, and Lamine Yamal fired a free kick through Feyenoord's defensive wall in an easy 5-1 win.
It was a typically Arsenal result, a 1-0 win at Napoli with the only goal scored by the English champion's suddenly prolific captain Martin Ødegaard. It's his fourth goal so far after just one in the whole of last season.
All four English clubs won their opening games after Liverpool rallied to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 with goals by midfielders Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister. However, Liverpool saw its record signing Bradley Barcola limp off with an apparent calf injury in the second half.
Unheralded Stuttgart forward Ermedin Demirović got a hat trick inside 12 first-half minutes in a 3-1 win over Norwegian debutant Viking.
Sporting Lisbon beat Galatasaray 3-1 having also trailed early in the game. The third was a powerful curling free kick by Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Zalazar.
The high rate of goals — 45 through the first 12 games in this Champions League campaign at a rate of 3.75 per game — is well above the average of 3.47 last season. That was itself the highest rate since the 1960s in the old European Cup format.
After beating Aston Villa 2-1 in the UEFA Super Cup four weeks ago, PSG failed to win any of its next four games in France, including three in defense of its Ligue 1 title.
A routine demolition of Slovakian champion Slovan was more like business as usual.
“Confidence isn‘t easy to get, especially if you’re not getting the results you want," PSG coach Luis Enrique said. “For me, our first three games were acceptable.”
Luis Enrique, who coached Barcelona to a Champions League title before his two in Paris, had praise for Slovan coach Yaya Touré. The Ivory Coast great became the first African to coach a team in the Champions League main phase.
“I like the messages he transmits to his players, he has everything to succeed," the PSG coach said. "He has the quality and the ability to be a great manager.”
Raphinha now has eight goals in just five games this season, as if sending a reminder to those who left his name off the Ballon d'Or nominations Tuesday.
Barcelona got high-class goals from all angles Tuesday, including from new signings Karim Adeyemi and Gabriel Jesus. Adeyemi found the top corner of Feyenoord's net with a precise curling shot in the 22nd and Jesus came off the bench to glance in a header in the 85th.
Teenage star Yamal fired a free kick left-footed from 20 meters (yards) in the 77th that went at waist height between Feyenoord players jumping and turning sideways in the wall.
“He is outstanding,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said of Yamal, "you can see it every game. He is special.”
Feyenoord was coached by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who returned to Camp Nou where he spent four years as a player and won a Champions League title in 2006.
A 12-minute hat trick by Stuttgart forward Ermedin Demirović was just the eighth-fastest in the Champions League era, UEFA said.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina forward found his rhythm to strike in the 20th, 26th and 32nd minutes and give Stuttgart a decisive lead against Norwegian newcomer Viking, whose captain Zlatko Tripić had leveled in the 22nd.
PSG’s Ferran Torres followed suit hours later — in the 31st, 47th and 57th minutes — to make it two trebles after just 12 of the 189-game Champions League season.
Eight hat tricks were scored last season, including two by Kylian Mbappé in the league phase for Real Madrid, both in away games at Kairat Almaty and Olympiakos.
Atletico Madrid midfielder Marcos Llorente once had such a stellar game at Liverpool he named his dog after the storied Anfield stadium.
On Wednesday, the 31-year-old Llorente played at Anfield in the Champions League for the third time in his career and scored his fifth goal there. That matches his tally of five goals in his other 56 Champions League games.
His 17th-minute strike to give Atletico the lead Wednesday ultimately was in vain in a 2-1 loss. He will always have those two extra-time goals in March 2020 for a 3-2 win that eliminated then-defending champion Liverpool in the round of 16.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Stuttgart's Ermedin Demirovic celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and Viking FK in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
Barcelona's Raphinha celebrates after scoring the opening goal of his team during the Champions League opening phase soccer between Barcelona and Feyenoord in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal scores his side's fourth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer between Barcelona and Feyenoord in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer between Barcelona and Feyenoord in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta talks to Arsenal's Martin Odegaard during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Chelsea in London, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola attends a training session in Liverpool, England, Tuesday Sept. 8, 2026. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Barcelona's Raphinha, right, celebrates with teammate Lamine Yamal after scoring his side's third goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Barcelona in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
