President Trump has said the US could take Iran’s oil – as he mulls over a daring operation to seize one of the Islamic Republic’s energy strongholds.
The commander-in-chief suggested the approach could be similar to when Venezuelan tyrant Nicolás Maduro was deposed which saw the US take control of oil exports.
“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,” he told the Financial Times Sunday.
Oil prices continued to climb Monday – with the price of Brent crude reaching $116 per barrel, the highest since March 19.
President Trump also didn’t rule out an operation which would see US forces seize Kharg Island – a critical terminal where around 90 per cent of Iran’s oil exports are processed.
“Maybe we [will] take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” he said.
“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.
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