US President Donald Trump said he has no regrets about launching the war against Iran, despite concerns that the conflict and its economic fallout could hurt Republicans in November’s midterm elections.
“I don’t believe in the word ‘regret.’ You can always question yourself a little bit,” Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham when asked whether he regretted the war because of its possible impact at the ballot box.
“If I had it to do again, I would do exactly as I did,” Trump said in the interview broadcast Thursday on “The Ingraham Angle.”
Trump also rejected suggestions that parts of his political base had become frustrated or demoralised by the conflict.
“I don’t think they’re demoralised. 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 war would end immediately after the November elections, repeating a claim he made a day earlier.
“It ends right after the election,” Trump said.
He has accused Tehran of seeking to influence the midterms, which will determine whether Republicans retain control of Congress.
The conflict has become an increasingly important domestic political issue as higher oil and petrol prices put pressure on US consumers and create fresh challenges for Republican candidates.
The United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, prompting retaliatory Iranian strikes against Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases.
US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands of people and displaced millions during the conflict.
Trump has repeatedly said that weakening Iran’s nuclear capabilities is a central objective of the war. Iran does not possess nuclear weapons and maintains that its uranium enrichment programme is intended for peaceful purposes.
The United States is itself a nuclear-armed state.
