President Donald Trump said he did not regret going to ​war against Iran despite the impact the conflict may have ‌on the November U.S. midterm elections.

“I don’t ​believe in the word ‘regret.’ You can ⁠always question yourself a little bit,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham when asked ‌if he regretted the Iran war due to the impact it may have on ‌the elections.

“If I had it do again, ‌I ⁠would do exactly as I did,” Mr. ⁠Trump said in the interview broadcast on Thursday (September 10, 2026) on The Ingraham Angle show.

Mr. Trump dismissed suggestions that some of his supporters were upset ​and demoralised about the ‌war.

“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,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump ‌reiterated his thinking that the war ​will end immediately after the midterm election.

“It ends right after the election,” Mr. Trump said ⁠in the interview. He made similar comments on Wednesday (September 9, 2026), alleging Tehran was trying to influence the elections ‌that will determine whether Trump’s Republican Party retains control of Congress.

The rise in oil and gas prices due to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has become a major issue for Republicans in the lead-up to the elections.

The U.S. and Israel attacked ‌Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own ​strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. bases. U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran ⁠and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and ⁠displaced millions.

Mr. Trump has cited weakening Iran’s nuclear capabilities as one of his war objectives. ‌Iran does not have nuclear weapons and says its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful ​purposes. The U.S. is nuclear-armed.

The expiry of the U.S’s Memorandum of Understanding with Iran on Monday with no indication of any extension has left Washington with no clear exit strategy, six months since it launched attacks on Iran along with Israel. This is evidenced in President Donald Trump’s erratic stances on the war, expressed via his statements.

The chart shows an alternation between crude threats of destruction — for instance on March 21, he said that U.S. will destroy Iran’s power plants if Tehran didn’t fully open the Strait of Hormuz — and softened rhetoric when three days later he said that the U.S. and Iran had a productive conversation about resolution (denied by the Iranians).

The yo-yo nature of his statements show how the Trump administration has been stuck in a quagmire following its actions, which lacked a clear strategic objective for the Americans.

Rising petrol and fertilizer prices, the increased costs of waging the war, and the weakening of military advantages have caught it in a bind.

Contrary to Mr.Trump’s assertions on the weakening of Tehran, Iran has not budged from its positions, despite being subject to intense bombing and a renewed naval blockade. Meanwhile, the aerial bombing, missiles and drone-led retaliations by Iran have created a new bottleneck for the U.S. and its allies, who are running low on critical munitions.

This will also come at a great cost. According to estimates by CSIS, the Trump administration’s actions in Iran, till June alone, have already incurred huge costs (~$40 billion).

Iran’s determination to withstand the blockade is costing the U.S. both militarily and monetarily.

The data for the charts were sourced from Truthsocial, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED)

A secret operation that reportedly smuggled Donald Trump off Air Force One in a catering truck before the plane departed carrying journalists and top aides at apparent risk of an Iranian strike has raised questions over U.S. security practices.

Also read | Trump says he slipped away from Air Force One in Turkey due to threat

The Washington Post reported on Monday (August 12, 2026) that Mr. Trump covertly exited the presidential plane while it was on the ground in Turkey on July 8 as his security team deployed a scheme to evade an assassination threat.

Some traveling media expressed anger at having unwittingly served as decoys, while others complained about deception and lack of communication from the White House.

Mr. Trump boarded the presidential jet in full view of video cameras and photographers, with AFP pictures showing two supply containers on hydraulic lifts at the front and rear of the aircraft.

But he then reportedly quickly left the plane, stepping inside one of the cargo containers, to board a smaller U.S. Air Force aircraft positioned nearby.

About a dozen journalists traveling in a separate section of Air Force One with no access to the President were unaware of the switch and flew out of Turkey on the plane despite the apparent threat from Iran, which is at war with the United States.

Shoulder-to-air missile threat?

“When you sign up to work at the White House, even as a civilian, part of your job is to defend the President,” one unnamed White House reporter told the Post.

“That’s not my job. I cover the President. Reporters take risks as part of the job, but not on behalf of the President.”

The Wall Street Journal reported Israel had briefed the U.S. about a possible shoulder-to-air missile strike on Air Force One, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was among senior officials and staff who remained on the plane.

Dispatches sent by pool media on board noted a Secret Service order that window shades be lowered during takeoff — an unusual instruction outside of combat zones.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday (August 11) called for Congress to be briefed “on the Iranian threats against the president, the extraordinary measures taken to get him out of Turkey.”

Mr. Trump’s trip to the NATO summit had already raised eyebrows after he arrived on a luxury Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar and retrofitted to carry the U.S. President.

But it was reportedly not fitted with anti-missile security systems and the old Air Force One was called into action.

Mr. Trump claimed at the time that the new plane was being sent ahead for U.S. troops in Britain to tour, as a treat.

At a stopover in Britain, he returned to the Qatar-gifted plane for the flight to Washington.

Asked at the time why journalists had been asked to lower window blinds he said “because you’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with.”

“If I go, you go. Right?” Mr. Trump told reporters.

The White House has yet to respond directly to the alleged plane swap.

“There are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats,” Mr. Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.

In 2000, Bill Clinton switched presidential planes at the last minute while traveling from India to Pakistan, using a decoy aircraft carrying Secret Service agents.

Joe Biden’s 2023 visit to Ukraine was also shrouded in strict secrecy during a long journey by plane and train, though he was accompanied by a reporter and photographer.

U.S. President Donald ​Trump said he slipped away from Air Force One in Turkey because advisers wanted him on a ’different plane’ due to threat.

Also read | West Asia war highlights on August 12, 2026

Mr. Trump said on Wednesday (August 12, 2026) ‌the plane he ​flew on ⁠after he secretly took a military flight from ‌Turkey last month was “at ‌greater risk.”

The switch ‌involved ⁠the Republican ⁠President being moved between aircraft in a catering ​truck because ‌of worries over reports of a potential Iranian assassination threat.

“I ‌think actually the ​plane that I flew on ⁠was at greater risk,” Mr. Trump told ‌reporters after The Washington Post broke the story. “I think it was at greater risk ‌because that would be ​the plane I think that they ⁠would be more ⁠likely to go for.”

U.S. President Donald Trump accused Iran of being “devious negotiators” in an interview released ​late on Monday (August 10, 2026) and described some of his current ‌options in the war — “just bop along” and ​let Tehran fail economically or hit ⁠them “really, really hard.”

Also read | West Asia war highlights on August 12, 2026

“I’m sort of negotiating,” Mr. Trump told Real America’s Voice in a phone interview. “They’re very devious negotiators.” Since ‌the conflict began in late February, Trump has repeatedly oscillated between threats of ‌escalation and claims that a peace deal is ‌imminent. ⁠Pakistan said on Tuesday (August 11) that the U.S. and Iran were close to “some sort” of deal, and Qatar said talks on managing the Strait of Hormuz were at an advanced stage, despite reports of new attacks on shipping in regional waters.

Mr. Trump described one of his possible strategies as: “Do what I’m doing now: just bop along ‌and look how bad they’re doing.”

“Economically, they ​are a mess. They can’t borrow money. We control their money, what they ⁠had, which is a lot. They had a lot, and we have total control of it. I’m ‌their banker,” he said, referring to frozen Iranian assets.

Another option would be to “Hit them really, really hard,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump also shrugged off concerns about low munitions, saying the U.S. was “building them like crazy” and blaming his predecessor, former U.S. President Joe Biden. Reuters reported last week that the ​U.S. Army has used up much of its stockpile of highly accurate long-range ⁠missiles during the war, raising concerns about the military’s readiness ⁠for future conflicts.

“We’re fine with munitions… But the reason it would be lower, and ‌we’re building them like crazy, but the reason it’s low is because he [Biden] gave $300 billion ​worth to Ukraine,” Mr. Trump said.

At least 42 U.S. aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, were lost or damaged during Operation Epic Fury launched on February 28 targeting Iran, according to an official report.

The number of aircraft damaged or destroyed may remain subject to revision due to multiple factors, including classification, ongoing combat activity, and attribution, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report said.

The aircraft losses and damages include four F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets, one F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft, one A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft, seven KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling aircraft, one E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, two MC-130J Commando II special operations aircraft, one HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter, 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones and one MQ-4C Triton drone.

The CRS, which provides policy and legal analysis to the U.S. Congress and committees, compiled the losses by perusing news reports and statements by the Department of Defence and the U.S. Central Command.

During a hearing of the House Appropriations subcommittee on May 12, Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules W Hurst III testified that the department’s cost estimate for military operations in Iran has increased to $29 billion.

“A lot of that increase comes from having a refined estimate on repair or replacement costs for equipment,” he said.

President Donald Trump on Sunday (April 26, 2026) said the U.S. and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.

In an interview on Fox News Channel, Mr. Trump said he made that decision rather than send a delegation on a 17-hour flight.

U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to China on May 14 and 15 for a rescheduled summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the White House has announced.

Mr. Trump, who was earlier scheduled to travel to Beijing by the end of this month, postponed his trip due to the war in Iran.

Announcing Mr. Trump’s “long-awaited” trip to China, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday (March 25, 2026) the U.S. President and First Lady Melania will also host President Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, for a reciprocal visit to Washington DC at a later date this year.

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Responding to a question about whether the two leaders spoke about the conclusion of the war as a precondition to reschedule this meeting, she answered there was no discussion about the rescheduling of the meeting between the President and Mr. Xi.

“President Xi understood that it’s very important for the President to be here throughout the region right now. He understood, obviously, the request to postpone and accept it, which is why we have a meeting,” Ms. Leavitt said.

Asked if the war would conclude by the time of the meeting in May, Ms. Leavitt said, “Again, as I’ve said, we’ve always estimated approximately four to six weeks.” Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi last met in person in October on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Busan, South Korea.

Mr. Trump said last week, while meeting with Irish Prime Minister Michel Martin in the Oval Office, that he would be going to China in five or six weeks’ time instead of at the end of the month. He said he would be rescheduling his trip to China.

“We’re working with China, they were fine with it,” Mr. Trump said. “I look forward to seeing President Xi. He looks forward to seeing me, I think,” he added.

The U.S.-Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on February 28 and the retaliation by the Islamic nation extended the war to the entire Gulf region.

The U.S. and Israel attack killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The joint strikes came after days of build-up, with Mr. Trump ramping up the pressure on Tehran to agree to a new deal on its nuclear programme.

The conflict has also taken a major toll on energy supply chains, especially across the Strait of Hormuz.