Trump Says He Has No Regrets Over Iran War

U.S. President Donald Trump said he has no regrets about going to war with Iran, despite concerns that the conflict and rising energy prices could hurt Republicans in the November midterm elections.

Speaking with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Trump rejected the idea that he regretted the decision to launch military action against Iran.

“I don’t believe in the word ‘regret.’ You can always question yourself a little bit,” Trump said during the interview broadcast Thursday. “If I had it to do again, I would do exactly as I did.”

Trump also dismissed claims that the Iran war has left some of his supporters frustrated or demoralized. He argued that his political base supports his effort to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“I don’t think they’re demoralized. I think they’re very proud of the fact that I’m not letting Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

The president again predicted that the conflict would end immediately following the U.S. midterm elections. “It ends right after the election,” Trump said, repeating comments made Wednesday. He has alleged that Tehran is seeking to influence the elections, which will determine whether Republicans maintain control of Congress.

The Iran war has become an increasingly important political issue as higher oil and gasoline prices put additional pressure on U.S. consumers ahead of the vote.

The United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, prompting Tehran to retaliate with strikes targeting Israel and Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases. U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and Israeli operations in Lebanon have since killed thousands of people and displaced millions.

Trump has identified weakening Iran’s nuclear capabilities as a key objective of the conflict. Iran maintains that it does not possess nuclear weapons and says its uranium enrichment program is intended exclusively for peaceful purposes. The United States possesses nuclear weapons.