US President Donald Trump says his preference would be to take the oil in Iran as the Islamic Republic continues to engage in strikes and counter strikes against Israel and the United States.
Iran is a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). With about 208 million barrels as of 2024, it holds the world’s third largest proven crude oil reserves just after Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.
Iran also control’s the Strait of Hormuz, a sea passage where about 20 percent of the world’s oil is shipped through.
But much of the critical waterway has been shut off by Iran’s de facto blockade, squeezing shipping traffic to a trickle since the war began last month.
The US and Iran have threatened each other over the strait. Trump has demanded a total reopening while Iran maintains that it calls the shots.
In a Sunday interview with the Financial Times, Trump said he would rather take the Islamic Republic’s oil, an ambition outside his publicly declared war goals in the Middle Eastern country.
“To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid people back in the US say: ‘why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people,” Trump said.
The US president also weighed seizing Kharg Island, Iran’s key fuel export hub.
“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Trump added.
“It would also mean we had to be there [in Kharg Island] for a while.”
Storage capacity on Kharg is estimated at roughly 30 million barrels, according to Kpler, a global trade analyst. The island handles 90 percent of Tehran’s oil exports.
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In January, the US captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and announced control of the country’s oil industry.