President Donald Trump says the U.S. could stay in Iran and keep its oil, drawing a parallel to the administration's Venezuela energy deal as Gulf states prepare to meet Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States could hold its position in Iran and take control of the country's oil, describing an endgame that mirrors the energy arrangement his administration reached with Venezuela this year.
"We'll ultimately get out, unless we decide to stay and keep the oil, like Venezuela," Trump told reporters at his golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland, on the closing day of the Irish Open.
The comment landed hours after an Iranian commercial vessel was struck in the Strait of Hormuz and as Gulf states prepared to meet Tehran about keeping shipping lanes open. It also underscored how completely the White House now treats energy leverage and military pressure as a single instrument.
Trump's reference to Venezuela was not casual. The administration announced a sweeping oil deal with Caracas in late August, built around a $100 billion plan to rebuild Venezuelan production, with Washington pushing to take control of a fifth of the country's vast reserves and locking in a guaranteed share of the crude at cost.
Under that framework, the Pentagon secured an ownership stake in the new venture and the State Department won the right to buy a set share of output, giving American consumers a direct line to discounted supply. Trump has pitched the model as a way to lower prices at home while pulling a rival oil state into Washington's orbit.
Applying that template to Iran would be far more ambitious. Iran holds some of the largest proven reserves on earth, and any arrangement that leaves a U.S. footprint alongside its oil fields would amount to a historic shift in the region's balance of power. Trump framed it as an option rather than a plan, but the parallel signaled that he intends to keep maximum leverage until Tehran accepts terms he considers acceptable.
For Trump, control of energy is leverage. A U.S. stake in Iranian crude would let Washington both defuse the global price shocks that have followed every escalation and deny Tehran the revenue that funds its proxy network. It would also hand the administration a tangible win to present to voters who have felt the pinch of higher fuel costs all year.
"Iran wants to make a deal so badly. They are calling constantly," Trump said. "They want to make a deal. They got to make the right deal. I'm not going to make a deal that's no good."
Trump also pushed back on the idea that the Middle East conflict is driving fuel costs. He pointed instead to Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, urging President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop targeting diesel production.
"This isn't done by the Middle East. This is done by what's happening with Russia and Ukraine," Trump said. "Don't hit diesel fuel because that's hurting. That's hurting the world. We don't want him to hit diesel fuel."
The president repeated his prediction that the Iran conflict will wrap up "right after the midterms," while leaving the door open to a faster finish. He promised rapid relief at the pump once the fighting ends.
"Gasoline's going to drop like a rock," Trump said, tying cheaper fuel to a conflict he has argued was necessary to reset the region.
The war began Feb. 28, when the administration announced major combat operations against Iran with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on military, government and infrastructure targets. Negotiators entered talks in June around a memorandum of understanding both sides signed, but strikes never fully stopped, with the Strait of Hormuz emerging as the central flashpoint. In August, Trump said Washington would launch a "crushing economic operation" to force Tehran to terms.
The pressure campaign is playing out against a live shipping crisis. An Iranian container ship was hit by an unidentified projectile near Hengam Island early Sunday, killing one person and wounding four crew members, Iranian state media reported from the scene.
The strike came as Iran prepared to sit down with Gulf states in Oman on Monday to discuss safe passage for commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz -- the narrow waterway that carries about a fifth of the world's seaborne oil. Trump waved off the gathering when asked about it, saying the outcome is up to the parties involved.
Further west, Saudi Arabia shut down its East-West pipeline as a precaution after a string of attacks Thursday. The line runs from the kingdom's eastern oil fields to the port of Yanbu, giving Riyadh a way to move crude when Hormuz is threatened. A projectile fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen landed in the Jazan region along the Red Sea coast, injuring two people and damaging a mosque and several buildings.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi dismissed the commander of Maysan province and ordered an investigation after authorities traced attacks on a Saudi pipeline to a launch site inside Iraqi territory along the Iranian border.
Behind the scenes, Trump has spoken twice with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman about the deteriorating security picture. The administration is supplying intelligence and targeting assistance to Riyadh while holding off on direct strikes against the Houthis, leaving room for the situation to shift.
Trump said the Houthis have signaled they want to stay out of a direct fight with Washington. "The Houthis called us and they don't want to fight with us," he said. "They're letting most ships go through."
The Houthi threat cuts both ways. The rebels have repeatedly said the strait remains open to commercial traffic, a sign they understand that choking the waterway would invite a far stronger response from Saudi Arabia, the United States and other navies that depend on the route.
Monday's talks in Oman are the immediate test. If Iran arrives ready to guarantee shipping through Hormuz, the meeting could lay groundwork for a broader settlement and give Trump room to declare the strategy a success. If Tehran stalls, the White House has made clear it will keep tightening the economic screws.
Oil markets are watching both tracks closely. Traders are pricing in fresh risk after the Saudi pipeline shutdown and the vessel strike, and any sustained disruption at Hormuz would push prices higher heading into the fall -- the opposite of the relief Trump is promising.
The midterm calendar adds another variable. Trump has tied the war's end and falling gas prices to the November vote, and his remarks show he intends to campaign on energy dominance as much as national security. Whether he follows through on staying in Iran to keep the oil, or exits with a deal in hand, the decision now sits squarely with him.
President Donald Trump says the U.S. could stay in Iran and keep its oil, drawing a parallel to the administration's Venezuela energy deal as Gulf states prepare to meet Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz.
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