STORY: TRUMP: "We're going to have a much safer world as soon as it's finished and it's going to be finished pretty quickly."
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday predicted a "quick" end to the war in the Middle East, even as Iran's hardliners staged a show of loyalty to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ... in a sign that Iran was not prepared to back down any time soon.
The conflicting signals sent markets on a rollercoaster on Monday, with oil prices surging and stock markets nosediving before swinging back the other way after Trump told CBS News the war is (quote) "very complete, pretty much."
"We've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough."
Earlier, Reuters reported exclusively, citing two people familiar with the matter, that Trump was expected to review options to tame oil prices, which soared to more than $100 a barrel on Monday due to the war against Iran.
It comes as the White House worries that a surge in oil prices will hurt U.S. businesses and consumers ahead of the November midterm elections.
Clayton Seigle is a senior fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"I think you're going to see that nationwide price average get close to $4 a gallon. That's painful for consumers and it's probably also painful for elected leaders, the politicians."
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The sources, who spoke to Reuters about Trump's plans on condition of anonymity, said one of the measures under discussion to bring down oil prices is a possible joint release of crude from strategic reserves with counterparts from the Group of Seven major economies.
Other options include restricting U.S. exports, intervening in oil futures markets, waiving some federal taxes, and lifting requirements under a U.S. law called the Jones Act that domestic fuel move only on U.S.-flagged ships.
A third source told Reuters that administration officials are also exercising diplomatic pressure on Gulf allies to help restore production and shipping of oil.
In Los Angeles, the price for gasoline has risen above $5 a gallon, among the highest in the country.
Seigle warns that the price at the pump might continue to rise.
"Even if the current war in this phase draws to an end, you know, we now have a new chapter of geopolitical instability in that really important region of the world for oil and gas supplies. I think it's going to be with us for quite a while, conceivably, even through the rest of the term, of President Trump's term."
