US President Donald Trump has said he does not expect the war with Iran to end until after November's midterm elections, and that oil prices will remain elevated until then. His comments come amid falling approval ratings and mounting pressure from within his own Republican Party to bring the seven-month conflict to a close, with the remarks made as he travelled to Texas for the party's first-ever midterm election convention.

Oil prices reached $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since July, driven by intensifying fighting across the Middle East, while US diesel prices hit an all-time high earlier in the week. Trump claimed, without evidence, that Iran was trying to influence the election to install a "weak" government that would let it pursue nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran denies. Fighting has escalated since a 60-day ceasefire expired last month, with the US striking five Iran-linked oil tankers, Iran attacking two US Navy destroyers and eight tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran-backed Houthis striking Saudi oil facilities. Midterm elections take place on 3 November, with Republicans at risk of losing control of Congress.