India, Nov. 8 -- US President Donald Trump has blamed Democratic gains in the midterm elections for a claimed $3 trillion loss in the US stock market, while defending his decision to launch military strikes against Iran. Speaking to reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday, Trump linked the market downturn to the election outcome and reiterated that preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon remained a priority.

"We lost about $3 trillion when they found out that the Democrats did well in the election, rather surprisingly, but that's the way life goes," Trump said. "It had to do with the fact that we won't let Iran have a nuclear weapon, so you always have to go with that first." According to Bloomberg, Trump made similar r...