President Trump has floated the idea that the United States might seize control of Iran’s oil resources, contemplating a bold operation targeting a key energy site within the Islamic Republic.
The president likened this potential move to the U.S. intervention in Venezuela, where American forces took charge of oil exports following the removal of leader Nicolás Maduro.
In a conversation with the Financial Times on Sunday, Trump expressed his interest in Iran’s oil, stating, “Honestly, my preferred plan is to take Iran’s oil, but some people back home in the U.S. question it, asking ‘why are you doing that?’ I think they’re misguided.”
On Monday, oil prices saw an upward trend, with Brent crude reaching $116 per barrel, marking the highest level since March 19.
President Trump also mentioned the possibility of a U.S. operation to take over Kharg Island, a crucial hub through which approximately 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports pass.
“We might take Kharg Island, or maybe we won’t. We have numerous options at our disposal,” he remarked.
“It would also mean we had to be there [on the island] for a while.”
Trump claimed the US could take Kharg Island “very easily,” claiming: “I don’t think they have any defense.”
Earlier this month, the president boasted how US airstrikes had obliterated every military target on the island, one-third the size of Manhattan.
Iran has beefed up its defenses of Kharg Island by planting anti-armor mines surrounding it and on the shoreline, sources told CNN last week.
The regime has also moved troops as it braces itself for a potential US ground invasion.
An Israeli source previously warned a ground invasion would lead to American casualties.
“The hope is that they won’t take that risk and will instead fire at the oil fields, but there is no way to know,” they told the Jerusalem Post.
More than 3,500 US troops have arrived in the Middle East – and Iran has said it’s waiting for an attack.
“The enemy, openly, sends messages of negotiation and dialogue, but secretly is planning a ground attack,” Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, warned, according to IRNA.
Washington is “unaware that our men are waiting for American soldiers to enter on the ground so they can set them ablaze and punish their regional partners forever,” he said.
Trump has paused attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure until April 6.
He claims ceasefire negotiations are “doing extremely well” but stopped short of definitely saying a deal will be reached.
“I think we’ll make a deal with them, pretty sure, but it’s possible we won’t,” he told reporters on Air Force One Sunday.
“You never know with Iran, because we negotiate with them and then we have to blow them up.”
Iran emphatically rejected the proposed 15 point ceasefire plan put forward by the US last week.
