Trump says Iran may step up actions before midterm elections, muses about renaming Strait of Hormuz

He also claimed that Washington could end the confrontation quickly.

“They'll probably do a little bit extra before the election, thinking it's going to hurt us,” Trump said in remarks in the Southern state of Tennessee, a longtime stronghold of the president’s Republican Party, where Trump traveled to hold a campaign rally.

“But we could end it really quick,” he added, claiming he had shown restraint toward Iran despite what he called the destruction of the Iranian navy.

“They don't know how nice I've been to them,” he said, claiming that 159 Iranian ships have been sunk since late February, the start of the ongoing war.

Trump also mused about the flashpoint Strait of Hormuz: “We're thinking about renaming it to the Trump Strait.”

Trump previously said the war with Iran might end just after the Nov. 3 midterm congressional elections, in which the ongoing war has emerged as a key issue.

The president is not running in the midterms, but he is campaigning for fellow Republicans, working to help them keep control of one or both houses of Congress.

The US and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28, prompting Tehran to respond with missile and drone attacks in the region and effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz.

The war has continued for more than seven months, driving up global energy prices as commercial oil traffic through the strategic waterway has effectively halted.

The US and Iran signed a framework agreement in June, following mediation efforts by Pakistan and Qatar to halt hostilities and pave the way for negotiations.

Implementation of the deal has since stalled amid disagreements, including on security and navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.