US President Donald Trump discussed the ongoing conflict with Iran at a rally in Texas on Wednesday night, warning the Islamic Republic against carrying out nuclear activity at the heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain facility.

“We notice there's a little activity at Pickaxe. I would advise Iran not to get cute, because we will have to hit them very hard," he said.

Noting that the war against Iran is necessary in order to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon, Trump continued, “For 51 years, people have been trying to, and other Presidents have been trying to talk them out of it, but they don't understand talk, these people. They only understand one thing, and that's they're getting plenty of it."

Trump recently similarly warned that the United States could soon strike Pickaxe Mountain.

"Iran will not have a nuclear weapon," he told reporters at the Oval Office last week, before adding, "We may hit Pickaxe very soon...if there was anything going on with Pickaxe."

At the same rally on Wednesday night, Trump joked that the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz should be renamed in his honor.

Trump said he expects oil prices to fall once the United States prevails in the conflict, declaring that they "will be going down as soon as we win the war with Iran, which is taking place right now."

He then claimed that the US controls the waterway and quipped, "We'll win it. We're winning it. We control the Hormuz Strait. I think we should call it the Trump Strait. I should get something out of it. The Trump Strait."

"I'll have an announcement, we'll call it the Trump Strait. And I'm sure the Iranian leadership will be thrilled with that," the President continued. "I'd like to tell you it was their idea. It was not their idea. Don't think they're too happy about it. I don't think they're too happy."

Earlier Wednesday, Trump had told reporters that he expects the conflict to conclude following the US midterm elections in November.

"I think the war will end immediately after the election," he said, arguing that Iran "can't hold out any longer."

Trump also accused Tehran of attempting to prolong the conflict in order to influence the elections. "They're desperate to try and affect the election so that we could get a nice, weak group of people in there and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon."

The Wall Street Journal later reported that senior White House officials have privately cautioned Trump that the conflict could persist for years and potentially continue until the end of his current term in January 2029.

According to the report, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior advisers have discussed the possibility that Iran will continue resisting the US blockade and military campaign, despite Trump's public expectation of a much quicker end to the fighting.

White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales defended the administration's strategy in comments to The Wall Street Journal, saying, “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 adding, “Only President Trump knows what he will do and when."