US-Iran War Update: Donald Trump Predicts War Will End Soon

U.S. President Donald Trump has predicted the Iran war may soon be over despite Tehran refusing to meet unless it has its terms. The comments came as a Saudi pipeline attack added pressure to oil markets, but Bitcoin has held above $77,000.

Donald Trump Sees War Ending as Diplomatic Gap Remains

Speaking in Dublin on Saturday, Donald Trump said he expected the Iran conflict to finish after the U.S. midterm elections. He also reiterated that Iran must not be armed with nuclear weapons.

During the interview, Trump stated that oil prices “will come tumbling down” when the US-Iran war is over. Tehran, however, is not ready to enter talks without conditions.

Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi said talks would continue to be futile as long as Washington refused Iran’s demands. That’s a stance that is putting the two on opposite sides as the pressure in the region keeps mounting.

However, Iran has not given up on diplomacy, but it has made it abundantly clear that it will not accept unconditional talks.

Saudi Pipeline Attack Raises Oil Supply Concerns

Donald Trump’s US-Iran war remarks came after Saudi Arabia shut its East-West oil pipeline following a drone attack. The 1200-kilometre line transports crude to the Red Sea and avoids the Strait of Hormuz.

The pipeline was recently pumping approximately four million to five million barrels per day, which corresponded to about 4% to 5% of the world’s oil supply.

Iraq confirmed that the attack originated from its territory, although no group claimed responsibility. That didn’t stop Donald Trump from claiming Iran was “probably” to blame, though, without offering any proof.

Moreover, the pressure has also risen around the Red Sea following the expansion of the control of the Iran-backed Houthi forces near the Bab el-Mandeb shipping route.

Those developments have narrowed the options for Saudi Arabia because of the ongoing restrictions on traffic in and out of Hormuz. Brent crude closed above $104 on Friday, having ended the week with a gain of more than 8%.

As war concerns surge, the Bitcoin price has managed to move sideways, trading around $77,240 at press time, up by 0.53% after moving above $80,000 earlier in the week.

Like BTC, Ethereum has also not reacted to the Donald Trump US-Iran war announcement after jumping above the $2500 resistance in the last 24 hours. In addition, the XRP price has also had a bullish day after clearing the resistance at $1.35.