Senior White House officials have privately warned President Donald Trump that the conflict with Iran could continue for years, potentially lasting until the end of his current term in January 2029, according to US officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior advisers have discussed the possibility that Tehran will continue resisting the US blockade and military pressure, despite Trump's public predictions of a swift conclusion, according to the report.

The report comes after Trump said Wednesday that the war would end “immediately" after the November midterm elections because Iran would no longer be able to withstand the pressure.

Trump has privately expressed a desire to bring the seven-month-old conflict to a quick end, according to the officials quoted by The Wall Street Journal. The fighting has killed 18 US servicemembers, while the administration has simultaneously pursued a long-term economic campaign against Tehran through a naval blockade and sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to dismantle its nuclear program.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has described the strategy, known as “Operation Economic Outcast," as an alternative to major combat operations. US gasoline prices averaged $4.22 a gallon Wednesday, compared with $4.01 a month earlier and $3.19 a year ago, according to AAA.

White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales defended the administration's approach, telling The Wall Street Journal, “President Trump has destroyed Iran’s military capabilities and is crippling what’s left of its abysmal economy with the most powerful naval blockade in world history and crushing sanctions," and added, “Only President Trump knows what he will do and when."

The private discussions among Trump's advisers contrast with his repeated assertions that Iran's military has already been defeated and that its regime will soon capitulate. Vance said last week that he would not describe the ongoing confrontation as a “war," while acknowledging that he did not know when the hostilities would end and rejecting what he called an “artificial timeline."

“It would be irresponsible for us to write out our strategy and our timeline for an Iranian nation that simply cannot honor its commitments and cannot stop shooting at commercial ships," Vance told reporters.

The report comes as Rubio said Wednesday that Iran will continue to face consequences for attacks on US naval vessels and that Washington will maintain its economic pressure campaign.

Speaking to reporters in Ecuador, Rubio said, "They continue to fire on naval ships, and when they fire at our naval ships, they pay a price in tankers. They don’t hit our ships, but they lose five tankers."

Regarding the latest US strikes Tuesday night, Rubio said, "They lost five more last night. Four were damaged, and one was sunk. They'll continue to pay a price for that. In the meantime, we're going to continue to strangle them economically."