US President Donald Trump wants to "take the oil in Iran". He said this on Sunday US time in an interview with the Financial Times newspaper.
- To be honest, taking the oil in Iran is my favorite thing to do, but some stupid people back home in the US say, "Why are you doing that?" But they are stupid people, says Trump.
During the interview, the president says that it "would be his preference to take the oil", and he compares the possible US control over the oil with the situation in Venezuela. Here the US has taken partial control of the country's oil sales. The US did this after the country captured the then Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, at the beginning of the year.
According to the Financial Times, an American attempt to take control of Iranian oil will mean that the US gains control of the island of Kharg, which is a crucial hub for oil exports off the Iranian coast.
Thousands of US soldiers on their way to the Middle East
On Friday, unnamed sources in the US Department of Defense told The Wall Street Journal that the department is considering sending an additional 10,000 ground troops to the Middle East to give President Donald Trump more military options in the conflict with Iran.
According to the Financial Times, 3,500 US soldiers arrived in the Middle East on Friday, while another 2,200 are on their way to the area.
- Maybe we take the island of Kharg, maybe we don't. We have many options, Trump tells the media.
- That will mean we have to be there (on the island of Kharg, ed.) for a while.
When asked about Iran's defense on the island, the American president replies that he does not believe Iran has any defense.
- We could take it (the island of Kharg, ed.) very easily, he says.
The current conflict in the Middle East erupted when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Since then, it has spread to large parts of the Middle East, where Iranian attacks have hit several countries on the Arabian Peninsula.
Iran has also imposed a de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and this has sent oil and gas prices skyrocketing.
Despite Sunday's threats to seize Iranian oil, Trump reported in the interview on Sunday that indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran between Pakistani envoys are going well. Trump has previously given Iran until April 6 to accept a deal to end the conflict.
/ritzau/
Text, graphics, images, sound, and other content on this website are protected under copyright law. DK Medier reserves all rights to the content, including the right to exploit the content for the purpose of text and data mining, cf. Section 11b of the Copyright Act and Article 4 of the DSM Directive.
Customers with IP agreements/major customer agreements may only share Danish Offshore Industry articles internally for the purpose of handling specific cases. Sharing in connection with specific cases refers to journaling, archiving, or similar uses.
Customers with a personal subscription/login may not share Danish Offshore Industry articles with individuals who do not themselves have a personal subscription to Danish Offshore Industry.
Any deviation from the above requires written consent from DK Medier.
