By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said he did not regret going to war against Iran despite the impact the conflict may have on the November U.S. midterm elections.
“I don’t believe in the word ‘regret.’ You can always question yourself a little bit,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham when asked if he regretted the Iran war due to the impact it may have on the elections.
“If I had it do again, I would do exactly as I did,” Trump said in the interview broadcast on Thursday on “The Ingraham Angle” show.
Trump dismissed suggestions that some of his supporters were upset and demoralized about the war.
“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,” Trump said.
Trump reiterated his thinking that the war will end immediately after the midterm election.
“It ends right after the election,” Trump said in the interview. He made similar comments on Wednesday, alleging Tehran was trying to influence the elections that will determine whether Trump’s Republican Party retains control of Congress.
The rise in oil and gas prices due to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has become a major issue for Republicans in the lead-up to the elections.
The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. bases. U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.
Trump has cited weakening Iran’s nuclear capabilities as one of his war objectives. Iran does not have nuclear weapons and says its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes. The U.S. is nuclear-armed.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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