'More oil passing through Strait of Hormuz than before conflict began,' Trump says; calls Iran 'truly evil regime' as 75,000 protesters reported killed

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he leaves the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to travel to Iowa for a campaign rally. [EPA]
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he leaves the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to travel to Iowa for a campaign rally. [EPA]

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US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran is engaging in false provocation to push up oil prices ahead of the US midterm elections.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said Iran "is doing everything it can to raise the price of oil before the US midterm elections," adding that the country is "even fabricating fake claims of strikes, mines, and everything else — because more oil is now passing through the Strait of Hormuz than before the conflict began."

Trump cited a Wall Street Journal article published Thursday headlined "More Oil Is Leaving the Persian Gulf Than Before Iran's War." The piece reported that despite ongoing Iranian attacks, oil exports from the Persian Gulf region have surpassed pre-war levels, thanks to a US-protected temporary maritime convoy system and alternative pipeline routes.

Trump's remarks appeared aimed at countering the narrative that high global oil prices — seen as a political liability for Republicans heading into the midterms — stem from Iranian disruptions to oil shipping. He suggested Iran is stoking fears about supply disruptions to drive prices higher and influence the election outcome.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had earlier announced it struck four cargo vessels believed to be carrying Gulf state oil through the Strait of Hormuz under US military escort, and said three ships sailing west of the strait had struck mines.

Trump also criticized the Iranian government, saying it "is killing protesters and everyone else who gets in their way." "It is a truly evil regime, and I just want the American people and the world to understand how evil they are," he said.

"In less than seven months, 75,000 protesters have lost their lives. The whole world and the 'Dumocrat Party' don't seem to care," Trump said.

Trump offered no clear source for the claim that 75,000 Iranian protesters have died during the war. In August, he said 52,000 protesters were killed "in five months."


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