Trump: Iran manipulating oil, killing protesters en masse

US President Donald Trump launched a sharp attack Thursday on the Iranian regime, accusing Tehran of attempting to manipulate oil prices ahead of America's midterm elections. In a tweet, the president claimed Iran is staging false attacks and laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz in order to drive up oil prices and influence the vote's outcome.

"Iran is doing everything in its power to raise oil prices ahead of the midterm elections in the United States," Trump wrote. "They are even staging false attacks, laying mines and everything else, even though more oil is now passing through the Strait of Hormuz than before the confrontation began."

The American president went on to accuse the Tehran regime of mass killings of protesters. "They continue to kill protesters and anyone who gets in their way. This is a truly evil regime, and I can only hope that the American public and the world will understand just how evil it is," Trump stated.

According to him, 75,000 protesters have been killed in less than seven months. "It's shocking to see how the world and the Democratic Party, supposedly, seem not to care," he added.

US forces in the region (Photo: US CENTCOM)

Trump concluded with a firm declaration: "Iran must not have nuclear weapons—and will never have nuclear weapons." The tweet comes against the backdrop of the president's assessment that the campaign against Iran will end "very soon," as he stated at a campaign rally in South Carolina.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that the US military and the IDF have completed detailed operational plans for resuming large-scale strikes inside Iranian territory. According to the report, the planned move is expected to be carried out after the midterm elections in the US, and will include targeted strikes on nuclear facilities, national energy infrastructure, and strategic stockpiles of missiles and drones.