WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Friday that he ‌believed the ‌war with ‌Iran will end soon despite reports that the US and Israel are planning a fresh round or strikes.

“It's going to get wrapped ‌up ‌soon,” Trump ‌said in ‌an interview with a Kansas City radio station as he campaigned ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

“We ‌need a guarantee there'll never be a nuclear weapon,” he added.

Trump has said the US would not strike Iran before the elections, with the conflict proving a key issue during campaigning.

His comments come amid a wave of diplomacy in the region to try and break the stand-off coupled with reports of a possible new military campaign against Iran once the midterms are finished.

The US military’s senior officer overseeing the Middle East, Adm. Brad Cooper, met Trump at the White House on Thursday to outline military options in Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The US-Iran war has become focussed on shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz where Iran attempted to stop energy exports from the region in response to the initial US-Israeli attacks.

Washington has managed to create a protected shipping route through the strait, which has allowed oil shipments to climb back to their pre-war levels despite ongoing Iranian attacks.

At the same time, the US says it has completely cut off oil exports from Iran with its own blockade.

Cooper, the head of the Pentagon's Central Command, said on Friday that during a recent flight he took over the Strait of Hormuz there was no Iranian military presence because “Iran’s Navy is all at the bottom of the sea.”

“I saw dozens of commercial vessels transiting. All types. Cargo, crude oil, liquid natural gas, or LNG,” Cooper said in a video.

“I didn’t see the IRGC out there, at all,” he added.

He said US forces were ensuring the strait’s shipping lanes remained free from Iranian sea mines after a major operation to remove the devices.

The US military says it has helped Gulf countries export more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil since the summer.

Despite the progress, Iran continues to attack ships making the journey.

Oman said on Friday it had rescued 25 sailors from a merchant ship that was targeted and set ablaze in the waterway. Iran reported three oil tankers were halted while transiting.

Meanwhile, a Qatari delegation arrived in Tehran on Friday for talks with Iranian officials.

The visit took place a day after Iran said it had received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance addressed to security chief Mohsen Rezaei.

The Wall Street Journal said the letter focused on a possible framework for negotiations.

Earlier in the week, senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkike – members of the Makkah defense alliance – flew to Tehran for talks.

*With Reuters and AFP