Trump expects the war with Iran to end immediately after the midterm elections and describes his conversation with Putin as “wonderful.”

US President Donald Trump expressed, on Wednesday, his belief that the war with Iran will end "immediately" after the US midterm elections scheduled for November.

Trump said, in statements to reporters: “I believe that the war will end immediately after the elections,” considering that Iran “will not be able to hold out for much longer,” and accusing Tehran of trying to influence the American elections.

Trump added that oil prices, which rose due to the war with Iran, are unlikely to fall before the midterm elections.

Regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war, Trump revealed that, on Wednesday, he had a “wonderful conversation” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, stressing that the latter wants to reach an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.

"He wants to reach an agreement, and if (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky wants that too, that would be great," Trump told reporters, before departing on Air Force One for Dallas to participate in a Republican Party convention.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it fired ballistic missiles at a base in Jordan used by the US military and attacked ten ships, after the United States announced the destruction of five Iranian oil tankers, in a sharp escalation of the war that has been ongoing for more than six months.

Washington said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers yesterday, Tuesday. The US Central Command published a video of the strikes, describing them as a response to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard targeting a US Navy warship twice with ballistic missiles during the previous two days. She added that no Americans were harmed.

A statement issued by the Revolutionary Guard and published by official media stated that Iran then launched a ballistic missile attack on a base used by American forces near Azraq in Jordan.

Iran said that its missiles caused severe damage to the site, but Jordan stated that its air defenses intercepted 18 out of 20 Iranian missiles, and that two fell in uninhabited areas and there were no casualties.

An American official said that the Iranian strikes in Jordan were ineffective, and that all American military personnel were fine.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it also attacked ten ships, including two American ships and eight oil tankers, that attempted to cross a “prohibited and unsafe” area in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military said on Tuesday that one of its naval drones “suffered a malfunction” more than a day ago, after Iran announced that its forces intercepted an unmanned submarine in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command (Centcom) spokesman Tim Hawkins said, "A naval drone operated by American forces suffered a malfunction more than a day ago. It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations," without mentioning whether Iran had detained it.

Hawkins pointed out that "the disabled drone is an old model that does not collect sensitive data and is not equipped with classified sonar or radar equipment."

Earlier Tuesday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced the confiscation of an unmanned American submarine "at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, during a complex operation based on intelligence information and operational support."

He added in a statement, "This smart submarine is equipped with the latest technology in submarines in the world, which was delivered to the US Army's terrorist fleet in 2025."

Renewed clashes between the Iranian-backed Houthis and government forces in southwestern Yemen have resulted in the displacement of about 20,000 people “in Taiz and Hodeidah governorates since the escalation of hostilities,” noting that the number of displaced people “is increasing hour by hour as displaced families continue to arrive in host communities and displacement sites,” according to what was announced by the International Organization for Migration, which expressed “great concern.”

The organization stressed that "displaced families urgently need cash assistance, emergency shelter, basic household supplies, and food assistance. Access to clean drinking water and personal hygiene support remains difficult in reception centers and throughout host communities. Affected populations also urgently need emergency health care and referral mechanisms for the injured."

According to a tally prepared by Agence France-Presse based on sources from both sides of the conflict, more than 500 people have been killed, most of them fighters, since the Houthis in Yemen launched an attack last week to advance towards areas surrounding the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Since the beginning of the confrontations, at least 216 members of the government forces and 278 Houthi fighters have been killed, according to sources from both sides who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information, in addition to at least 29 civilians.

The Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of bombing Yemen

The Houthis announced on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia launched a series of raids in Yemen, after attacks launched by the rebels on civilian and economic facilities in the south of the kingdom, resulting in the wounding of 73 civilians.

The Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV said, "The Saudi aggression launched a series of raids on Al-Wazi'iyah District" in Taiz Governorate.

Earlier today, the official spokesman for the military coalition forces led by Riyadh to support the Yemeni government, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, said that attacks launched by the Houthis targeted facilities in Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jizan and Najran, and resulted in the injury of 73 civilians, including women and children. Al-Maliki described the attacks as a "flagrant violation of the Kingdom's sovereignty," stressing that the coalition leadership would take "all necessary operational measures to deter" the Houthis.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for attacking Saudi economic and military facilities with ballistic missiles and drones on Tuesday, stressing that the strikes came in response to Riyadh carrying out “121 air strikes” in Yemen during the past three days.

Bin Farhan: “Al-Houthi opened a door that he cannot bear.”

In a related context, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan affirmed that the Kingdom will not hesitate to defend itself in the face of any attacks, noting that the Yemeni Houthi militia “has opened a door that it cannot tolerate.”

The Saudi minister said that his country "will not hesitate to support what serves the interests of Yemen and the region," stressing that the Kingdom will use all available means to protect its interests and defend itself in the face of attacks.

Bin Farhan said during a press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow that the door to diplomacy with the Houthis is still open, but his country "will not hesitate to defend itself, protect its interests, and support what also achieves the interests, security and stability of Yemen."

The Saudi Ministry of Energy said today, Tuesday (September 8, 2026), that a number of energy installations and facilities in the southern region of the Kingdom were attacked by the Houthis in Yemen, which led to the outbreak of fires in several locations and a temporary cessation of some operations.

In turn, the coalition led by Riyadh to support the government in Yemen announced on Tuesday that a series of attacks resulted in the injury of 73 civilians in southwestern Saudi Arabia, vowing to respond to the rebels allied with Iran. The official spokesman for the coalition forces, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, said, “The senseless attacks by the Houthi terrorist militia, the latest of which was the targeting of civilian and economic objects in the cities of (Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, Najran) and resulted in the injury of a number (73) civilians, including women and children, are a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Kingdom,” pledging that “the leadership of the joint forces of the coalition will take all necessary operational measures to deter this terrorist militia.”

The Houthi "Ansar Allah" website reported earlier that the rebels bombed targets in southern Saudi Arabia. The Ansar Allah group wrote on Telegram that “Yemeni marches and missiles are destroying the Saudi enemy,” adding in a separate post that the strikes targeted Abha Airport, the King Air Base, and facilities belonging to Aramco in Abha and Jizan.