Trump Says Iran War Will End "Immediately" After US Midterm Votes

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he believes the Iran war will end "immediately" after the United States votes in midterm elections in November.

"I think the war will end immediately after the election" because Iran "can't hold out any longer," Trump told journalists, accusing Tehran of being "desperate to try and affect" the vote.

However, the Wall Street Journal quoted US officials saying that Trump's top advisers are privately warning that the war could drag on through the remaining two years of his term.

Nuclear referral

As Washington tries to choke off Iran economically, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors on Wednesday voted to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear "non-compliance", in a diplomatic move that piles pressure on Tehran.

The resolution seen by AFP was adopted by a 23-3 vote with eight abstentions, they said. Russia, China and Niger voted against it.

Iran's representative to the UN nuclear watchdog said the resolution was passed under US pressure, saying it "has no basis and will not bring any results".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his claim Iran was about to collapse.

"The main task is to bring down the terror regime in Iran. We are very close to that," he said Wednesday on a troop visit in southern Syria, where Israel has occupied what it calls a "security zone".

Tanker strikes

The latest round of US-Iran fighting was triggered after American forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers Tuesday, with the US military saying it "directed the crews to abandon ship" before hitting the vessels.

"Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers, and I think you'll see that again today," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Tuesday on a visit to Colombia.

Iran has asserted control of the Strait of Hormuz since US-Israeli strikes began the war in February, with traffic through the waterway virtually paralysed.

Tehran requires vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the strait.

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