Trump: Iran war ‘is going to end very soon, probably right after the midterms’

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US President Donald Trump’s top national security officials met secretly at Camp David to discuss next steps in the Iran war and the escalating conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, Axios reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Vice President JD Vance chaired the meeting at the presidential retreat, according to the report.

The talks come as the Trump administration weighs its next steps toward Iran amid stalled diplomacy and a growing US military presence in the region. Trump said Friday that the Iran war would end “very soon” and “probably right after the midterms.”

The meeting also came as Saudi Arabia prepares, in coordination with Yemeni government forces, for a major counteroffensive against the Houthis aimed at retaking areas along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, including the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, Axios reported. The United States has so far declined to participate directly in the offensive but is providing non-combat support, including intelligence and targeting information.

Iranian lawmaker Hossein-Ali Haji-Deligani called for Iran to occupy the United Arab Emirates, saying Iranian forces should deploy there to prevent attacks against Iran, in an interview with Didban Iran news website published Friday.

“Yes, we should occupy the UAE. This can be done easily,” Haji-Deligani, who represents Shahin Shahr and serves as first deputy chair of parliament’s Article 90 Commission, said after being asked whether he meant bringing the country under Iranian control.

He alleged that Iran was continuously threatened from the UAE and that planning related to what he described as the illegal passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz took place there.

“We should go there and establish security in that region; that is, we should be stationed there so that no attack against us takes place from that point,” he told Didban Iran.

Haji-Deligani also said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should have been targeted during his visit to the UAE, describing the country as a branch of Israel.

The lawmaker separately criticized Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, saying parliament was pursuing his impeachment over what he described as “signals of weakness.” He argued that Araghchi’s public remarks and talk of negotiations could push global oil prices lower and ease pressure on the United States.

US President Donald Trump said Friday that the war with Iran would end “very soon,” possibly shortly after the November midterm elections, and predicted oil prices would fall sharply once the conflict was over.

“That war is going to be over soon. One way or the other, one way or the other,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Mobile, Alabama, Fox News reported. “It's going to end very soon and probably right after the midterms.”

Trump pointed to Iran’s economic difficulties and claimed the country was experiencing inflation of about 310%.

“Their economy is down the tubes,” he said. “They have about 310% inflation.”

Trump also sought to clarify earlier remarks about quickly accomplishing his objectives against Iran, saying he had been referring to preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“What I said is I would do — they won't have nuclear. And I did that in one night. The B-2 bombers took them out,” Trump said.

He argued that Iran would need years to rebuild from damage inflicted by US strikes, adding: “They should have negotiated. They played their cards too tough.”

Trump also said 18 US service members had been killed during the more than six-month conflict.

Videos showing the Basij paramilitary force in Iranian elementary schools raise questions about how far Tehran could follow Russia and China in using education to instill ideology and loyalty from childhood.

Iran International’s Negar Mojtahedi examines what this could mean for a generation growing up after Woman, Life, Freedom.

A crude oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile four nautical miles east of Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said Friday in a post on X.

The vessel’s master reported that the projectile struck the tanker on its port side.

The incident followed another tanker strike earlier Friday in the Strait of Hormuz.

UKMTO said that vessel was hit by an unknown projectile while sailing outbound through the strait, causing a small fire and blackout. The fire was extinguished, the vessel resumed its transit and no casualties or environmental impact were reported.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Jordan’s King Abdullah II discussed efforts to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah and promote stability in Syria during a call Friday, according to the State Department.

The two discussed the implementation of the Trilateral Framework in Lebanon and efforts to disarm Hezbollah, as well as regional security and stability.

Rubio thanked King Abdullah for Jordan’s “steadfast role in advancing regional security and stability,” the State Department said.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called Friday for stronger European engagement in maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea during talks with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in Rome.

Tajani stressed the need to safeguard freedom of navigation, protect major international shipping routes and strengthen the EU’s partnership with countries in the region, according to Italy’s Foreign Ministry.

He also called for strengthening the EU’s ASPIDES maritime security operation, to which Italy provides personnel and naval assets. Kallas thanked Italy for its contribution to European security missions.

The two officials also discussed ways to strengthen the EU’s response to international crises, as well as Ukraine, hybrid threats, cybersecurity, the Western Balkans, China and tensions between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

The Omani co-pilot suspected of attacking the captain of a Flydubai flight bound for Israel indicated to investigators that his intention was to crash the aircraft in Israel, ABC News reported Friday, citing sources briefed on the investigation.

The suspect was transferred from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday and is cooperating with authorities investigating the incident, according to the report.

ABC News also reported, citing senior intelligence and law enforcement officials, that the suspect had previously been suspended from flying by Oman Air after being identified as a security risk. While working as a co-pilot trainee in 2024, he was found to be in possession of extremist materials, the sources said.

Investigators are examining how he was subsequently permitted to fly for Flydubai and became the first officer on a flight bound for Israel.

Flydubai said Friday it had temporarily suspended operations to Tel Aviv at the request of authorities and was fully supporting the official investigation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that the suspect had undergone “Islamist radicalization” and that authorities were investigating whether he had been sent by others.

“We are investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price,” Netanyahu said.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that investigators were examining whether Iran had a role in the incident and suggested an Iranian connection was possible. Asked how Washington would respond if Tehran’s involvement were established, Trump said Iran would be “hit very hard.”

Yemen’s armed forces said Friday they carried out 474 airstrikes and precision targeting operations against Houthi positions, movements, reinforcements and military capabilities over the past 24 hours, killing or wounding 1,540 members of the Iran-backed group.

In a post on X, military spokesman Majed al-Nazili said the operations used warplanes, drones, artillery, missiles and rocket launchers across several fronts, from southern Haradh and the coast to Kitaf, Al-Jawf, Marib, Al-Bayda, Lahj, Sanaa and Saada, with an intensive focus on Taiz.

He said most of the 1,540 reported casualties were on the Taiz fronts and that 216 military vehicles and other capabilities were destroyed or disabled.

Al-Nazili said the operations had broken Houthi forces on the Taiz fronts and thwarted their attempts to achieve a battlefield breakthrough.