Iran war: Oil surge, midterms worry Trump advisers as they push for an exit plan

US President Donald Trump has reportedly been advised to look for an exit plan from the Middle East amid surging crude oil prices and upcoming mid-term elections.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, advisors in recent days have encouraged Trump to articulate a plan to extract the United States from the war and make the case that the military had largely achieved its objectives.




"Some of Trump’s advisers watched with alarm as oil prices shot to over $100 a barrel. They have also fielded calls about the midterm elections from some nervous Republicans," WSJ reported.

While many in the president’s conservative base still support the initial operation, some of the president’s advisers have privately expressed concerns that a longer war could deplete that support.

People familiar with the matter also told WSJ that Trump has been briefed on some polling about the war which shows that most Americans oppose the war.

Additionally, the report also said that Trump has, at many times, been surprised that Tehran won’t cave despite the unrelenting joint US-Israeli military campaign.

Meanwhile, Trump has made conflicting statements about the war. Last week, he said he was seeking Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and declined to rule out sending ground troops to the country. On Monday, he told the New York Post he was “nowhere near” issuing such an order.

Earlier on Monday, Trump said that the military mission has mostly achieved its goals.

"It's going to be ended soon, and if it starts up again they'll be hit even harder," Trump told a news conference in Florida. "We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some people. And I think you'll see it's going to be a short-term excursion," he said.

Earlier, during a CBS interview, he said that the war was "very complete" and warned Iran against doing "anything cute".

"They've shot everything they have to shoot, and they better not try anything cute or it's going to be the end of that country," the US president said during a CBS interview. "If they do anything bad, that would be the end of Iran and you'd never hear the name again," he added.

"I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they've got no air force," he had said.

Over a thousand people have been killed in Iran, 397 in Lebanon, 11 in Israel and seven Americans since the war between the United States, Israel and Iran began.

In Lebanon, the fighting has displaced more than half a million people, though authorities say the real number is likely higher. The official figure of 517,000 reflects only those who registered on the government’s online portal.

Beyond the battlefield, the conflict has triggered a widening humanitarian and economic shock. Global energy markets have been rattled, pushing oil prices above $100 a barrel and tightening natural gas supplies after QatarEnergy halted production. Israel’s renewed offensive followed rocket attacks launched toward northern Israel by Hezbollah during the opening days of the Iran war.

The war in the Middle East began on February 28 with a massive joint strike by the United States and Israel targeting military bases, missile launch sites and strategic facilities across Iran, including in Tehran, Isfahan and Kermanshah.

The most dramatic development was the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in what analysts described as a “decapitation strike” aimed at crippling Iran’s leadership. Several senior military commanders were also reported killed.