Donald Trump is privately weighing whether to declare the war with Iran over, according to Wall Street Journal sources, as the conflict enters its seventh month. The president reportedly believes sustained economic pressure will eventually force Tehran to abandon its nuclear programme or collapse outright, even as advisers warn him that further escalation could damage Republican chances in November's midterm elections. Trump has said he is not factoring electoral consequences into his decisions on the war, while insisting the US military remains ready to strike again "any time" it chooses.

Despite the talk of winding down, fighting has intensified since the weekend, with Iran attacking US bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, all of which were intercepted, and a senior Iranian security official warning of a "new strategy" against Washington. The renewed violence has pushed Brent crude above $95 a barrel, over 30% higher than at the war's outset, though prices eased on Thursday after Trump suggested the latest strikes "could be over soon." He said the US had struck Iranian rocket launchers, air defences, radar and maritime targets in the Strait of Hormuz, while writing online that he now has "almost total control" of the strait and believes Iran's economy is "totally collapsing."