DUBLIN, IRELAND – SEPTEMBER 12: US President Donald Trump arrives to address US embassy staff and business leaders at the Deerfield Residence in Dublin, Ireland on September 12, 2026. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump said Saturday that the Iran war will likely end soon after the November midterm elections, predicting that energy prices will plummet.
Asked by reporters during a visit to Ireland when the Iran war is likely to end, Trump said: “I think it will be in the near future, actually right after the midterm elections.” “Oil will collapse soon.”
Oil prices fell on Friday, but rose sharply for the week after topping above $100 a barrel for the first time in months.
Brent crude oil futures, a global benchmark, fell 2.8% to settle at $104.61 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate fell 2.4% to settle at $100.05 per barrel. On Thursday, Brent crude peaked at about $108 per barrel, while WTI rose above $104.
The price drop came after Iranian state media reported that the Iranian government was scheduled to meet with its Gulf partner in Oman to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that some diplomacy was taking place despite sharp tensions over the past week.
Iranian and Gulf officials are expected to meet in Oman’s capital Muscat on Monday to sign an agreement to establish a shipping route between Iran and Oman through the Strait of Hormuz, MS NOW reported, citing senior government officials and Gulf diplomats.
But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country would not surrender, adding that it had resisted aggression from the United States and Israel.
NEW DELHI, INDIA – SEPTEMBER 11: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) meets Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (left) on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India, on September 11, 2026.
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“Iran has succeeded in standing up to Israel and the United States,” Pezeshkian said late Friday, speaking at a gathering of Indian religious leaders in New Delhi. “We seek truth and justice and will not bow down in the face of arrogant bullies.”
Pezeshkian’s comments ahead of the BRICS summit in India over the weekend followed President Trump’s assertion earlier this week that if Washington had not taken military action against Iran, Iran would have annihilated Israel and the Middle East and started attacking American cities.
saudi pipeline attack
President Trump also said Saturday that Iran was likely behind the attack on Saudi Arabia’s vital East-West crude oil pipeline.
In response to a reporter’s question about the attack, he said: “Well, I think so. Probably so.”
Saudi Arabia announced on Friday that it had shut down the pipeline as a precaution after multiple attacks by drones launched from Iraq.
The Saudi government said Thursday morning that drones targeted pipelines in the Riyadh and Medina areas, causing fires and some damage. Several people were reportedly injured in the attack.
Brent crude oil price, USD per barrel
As the United States and Iran battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has relied on the East-West pipeline to move oil exports out of the Persian Gulf. The pipeline has a capacity of 7 million barrels per day and runs across the kingdom to an export terminal in the Red Sea.
The Saudi Energy Ministry said emergency teams were dispatched to secure the pipeline and assess its safety following Thursday’s attack.
President Trump said he spoke with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the attack.
Houthis ‘have no intention of fighting us’
The US president also said Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels were in contact with the regime.
“The Houthis are calling us, and they don’t want to fight us,” Trump said. “They let us know that they don’t want to fight us, they don’t want me to come after them.”
The Houthis reportedly advanced on Yemen’s strategic Perim island on Friday, in a major boost to the insurgents’ push to seize control of one of the world’s most important shipping chokepoints.
The seizure of Perim Island, reported by multiple news agencies citing multiple Yemeni government sources, came just one day after the Houthis captured Mokha, a port city on Yemen’s Red Sea coast. CNBC could not independently confirm this report.
Sanaa, Yemen – September 11: Supporters of Yemen’s Houthis take part in a rally to celebrate the group’s capture of the strategic port city of Mokha and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in Sanaa, Yemen, on September 11, 2026. (Photo by Mohamed Hammoud/Getty Images)
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This rapid ground offensive is seen as a serious setback for Saudi Arabia, as Yemen seeks to push Saudi Arabia back and put Iran and its proxies on track to assert maritime control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz, two vital oil chokepoints on either side of the Arabian Peninsula.
Perim Island is a small, rocky piece of land that divides the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a waterway that connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and global markets.
There are concerns that the Houthi movement into the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could have a significant impact on global trade, especially if the militants increase their threats and attacks on Red Sea shipping.
The Saudi crown prince personally pressured President Trump for U.S. military intervention as the Houthis advance, MS NOW reported late Friday. According to a person familiar with the conversation.
