Trump Dismisses Midterm Pressure in Iran Talks

President Donald Trump has dismissed the political pressure of upcoming midterm elections, stating that he does not care about their impact as negotiations continue with Iran. During a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday, Trump asserted that Iranian leaders had miscalculated if they thought the November midterm elections would force him into a deal to end the nearly three-month-old conflict.

"They thought they were going to outwait me," Trump said, referring to Iran's leadership. "You know, 'We'll outwait him. He's got the midterms.' I don't care about the midterms."

The president had initially suggested that the war would last four to six weeks, but it is now approaching its fourth month. At times, he has indicated that the conflict could end within days only to later suggest it could go on for some time.

Trump's dismissal of midterm pressure adds to concerns among Republican allies already uneasy with earlier remarks downplaying the economic impact of the war on Americans. Growing voter disquiet about high prices, especially for gasoline, has added to political pressure on Trump’s Republican Party, which is widely expected to struggle to keep control of the House and possibly the Senate.

During the Cabinet meeting, Trump also referred to his construction projects in Washington D.C., including renovations of the Reflecting Pool and plans for a giant arch. Some Republican lawmakers have criticized these projects as distractions from more pressing economic issues.

The U.S. military conducted new defensive strikes on Iran on Wednesday after President Donald Trump asserted that Iran is "negotiating on fumes" and insisted that November's midterm elections in the United States won't make him rush into a deal to end the nearly three-month-old conflict. U.S. Central Command forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The U.S. military also struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone, the officials said. Details about the strikes emerged after Trump, at a Cabinet meeting earlier Wednesday, expressed confidence that his administration was making headway on settling the war, even though the talks still remain very much in flux.

The president is looking for a settlement that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide him with a credible argument that Iran's nuclear capability has been diminished enough to declare victory, winding down a conflict that's been politically unpopular for Republicans. But as things stand, Trump also risks finding that closure to his war of choice comes with an unsatisfactory ending.

The emerging deal puts off many critical issues to be resolved later and has already exposed the Republican president to fierce criticism — even from some of his own supporters — that Iran's hardline leaders will emerge from the conflict battered but emboldened. It all comes to a head just as the midterm elections to determine control of Congress come into focus and as Republicans worry that rising costs and fuel prices are darkening the American electorate's mood.

But Trump on Wednesday dismissed the idea that the upcoming elections would shape his Iran strategy. "They thought they were gonna outwait me. You know, 'We'll outwait him. He's got the midterms,'" Trump said. "I don't care about the midterms."

Trump acknowledged there's still work to do, but he spoke with a measure of certainty that the two sides would get there. "They want very much to make a deal," Trump said. "So far, they haven't gotten there. We're not satisfied with it, but we will be — either that or we'll have to just finish the job."