Iran · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Donald Trump Says U.S. Could Stay in Iran and Keep the Oil
US could stay in Iran and keep the oil, mirroring Venezuela seizures. He expected the Iran war to end this year, possibly after midterm elections.
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Trump floats staying in Iran
President Donald Trump said the United States could “stay in Iran” and “keep the oil,” comparing the idea to a U.S. effort to take control of a fifth of Venezuela’s oil reserves.
““stay in Iran” and “keep the oil””
Trump made the remarks during a trip to Ireland, where he told reporters that gasoline would “drop like a rock” once the Iran war ended.
He also said he still expected the Iran war to end this year, possibly after the U.S. midterm elections in November, as oil markets remained unsettled by turmoil in the Middle East.
The comments came as the BBC reported that Trump hinted at “holding the oil” in the Venezuelan style while Iran and Gulf countries prepared to hold a meeting in Oman to discuss security in the Strait of Hormuz.
In the same coverage, the BBC noted that the strait had been open to ships from all countries before the war erupted on February 28, when American and Israeli strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Oil prices and negotiations
Trump told reporters he would only make the “right deal” and not one that was “no good,” and he said Iran was “calling constantly” for peace talks, a description Iranian officials had previously denied.
The BBC reported that in response to a question about the Oman meeting, Trump said: “I don’t care. That’s up to them.”
The BBC also said Iran’s official news agency IRNA described the Salalah meeting as “the first step toward establishing a regional framework for security cooperation” in the Gulf.
In parallel, USA Today reported that the average national price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.31 on Sept. 13, according to AAA.
USA Today added that Trump defended the conflict at a 9/11 memorial last week, saying the United States would ensure the “Islamic Republic of Iran” “will never ever have a nuclear weapon.”
Strait of Hormuz and shipping
The BBC said the meeting in Oman was scheduled for Monday between Iran and Gulf countries in Salalah to discuss the Hormuz strait crisis and regional security cooperation.
“resulting in one death and three injuries”
It reported that Iran seeks to formalize its control over the waterway, including the possibility of imposing tolls on vessel passage, and that negotiations involved Oman, whose territorial waters extend into the strait.
The BBC also described a separate incident in which Iranian state media said an Iranian-flagged merchant ship was attacked off Qeshm Island in the Gulf near the Hormuz Strait, resulting in one death and three injuries.
In the same BBC account, the British Royal Navy’s Maritime Trade Operations said a ship was hit by a projectile while transiting the strait, with its crew evacuated after a fire broke out aboard.
Newsweek’s analysis, meanwhile, said a drone attack closed a 745-mile East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia that Riyadh announced it had shut as a precaution, and it cited the Institute for the Study of War saying Houthis could launch attacks on Saudi Arabia from Iraq because Iranian-backed Iraqi militias allow the Houthis to operate in areas that the militias control.