Trump defends Iran war after Republicans lose Congress

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the war with Iran had been worth fighting, while acknowledging that it contributed to Republican losses in midterm elections that cost his party control of Congress.

"The Iran thing we had to do, and we continue to do it," Trump told reporters at the White House, according to CNA.

He said the war was necessary to stop Tehran from "having a nuclear weapon". Asked about the election result, he said: "I can tell you that as far as that war is concerned, I would have done nothing different."

CNA reported that the war drove up petrol prices, and that the increase was seen as a strong factor behind the large gains Democrats made at the polls. Republicans lost their majority in Congress in voting held on Tuesday, the broadcaster reported.

Trump said he was comfortable with a social media post by Vice President JD Vance earlier on Wednesday, in which Vance referred to the depth of the losses and wrote that "the reason we lost is the war".

Trump was not on the ballot himself. He said that if he had been, "we would have won".

"But they just, you couldn't transfer that love. There was such love at those rallies, it was incredible and we weren't able to transfer the love to candidates," he said.

The remarks were his first extended comments on the result, and they set out how the White House intends to present a war that voters linked to higher fuel costs. Trump did not say whether the conduct of the war would change, and he gave no timetable for it.

The result puts the opposing party in charge of Congress for the remainder of Trump's term, giving it control of legislation and of oversight of the administration. CNA reported that Democrats made big gains as voters went to the polls with US forces at war and fuel prices elevated.

Trump's defence of the conflict puts him at odds with his own vice president's public explanation of the defeat. Vance's post on Wednesday attributed the losses directly to the war, while Trump framed the outcome as a failure to carry his personal support over to other candidates.

He did not take questions on what, if anything, he would change in the war's direction.