Iran war: Top US lawmaker says Republicans can ‘absolutely’ win midterms

Mike Johnson, speaker of the United States House of Representatives, says he is confident that his Republican Party will retain control of the chamber despite the unpopularity of the war on Iran.

Asked by Fox News on Sunday whether Republicans could win in the midterm elections in November if the conflict is still ongoing, Johnson said: “Absolutely”.

However, he added that “it would be helpful to get that thing resolved” before the vote on November 3.

Johnson made the comment at a time of increased public frustration with the war, which has led to a spike in oil prices and fuelled inflation as the national debt balloons in the US.

The House speaker, a close ally of President Donald Trump, said even if the war is not finished by November, Republicans will still win.

“People know we took the head off the snake,” Johnson said of Iran. “We had to make sure the largest state sponsor of terrorism did not have a nuclear weapon.”

The Trump administration argues that attacking Iran was to ensure that the country cannot obtain a nuclear bomb, but Tehran denies seeking one.

Trump’s own intelligence chief told lawmakers last year that there was no evidence of a nuclear weaponisation drive by Iran.