Mr. Trump leaves open the option of ‘controlling Iranian oil sources’

During a press conference after a cabinet meeting at the White House on March 26, President Donald Trump confirmed that “controlling Iran’s oil supply” was one of the options considered by US officials, adding that he “did not want to comment in detail” on this idea.

He compared the above plan to the agreement the US reached with Venezuela earlier this year, after the campaign to arrest President Nicolas Maduro on January 3. President Trump affirmed that the US has “done very well” with Venezuela’s oil reserves in recent times.

“We have earned billions of dollars. Venezuela is now better off, even at the best level in its history. What is happening is like a joint venture model, in which the US is making a lot of money,” he commented.

President Trump also downplayed the importance of the Strait of Hormuz to US energy supplies. He said that the US does not need this maritime route and affirmed that domestic oil production is still abundant, more than double that of Saudi Arabia and Russia, and may even soon reach triple output.

The US leader also called on Iran to completely abandon its ambition to develop nuclear weapons, declaring that Washington will continue its campaign if Tehran does not change, emphasizing that this country has the opportunity to “choose a new path”. He also warned that the US would bring its “worst nightmare” if Iran did not accept change.

President Trump acted tough when reporters questioned the possibility of the US reaching a deal with Iran, declaring that he personally “is not impatient and does not care whether the negotiations are successful or not”.

He emphasized that Washington has other goals before ending the campaign, saying that Tehran is the one “begging for negotiations”. The US President revealed that Iran has allowed eight oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as “a gift” to show goodwill in negotiations.

President Trump commented that the campaign against Iran is happening much faster than planned. He said the US military initially estimated it would take 4-6 weeks to achieve the goal, but was far ahead of schedule after 26 days.

Also during the meeting, special envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that the US had sent a draft 15-point agreement to Iran through the intermediary of Pakistan. He also saw some signs that Tehran was willing to accept returning to negotiations.

Iranian officials have not commented on the above information.

The conflict between the US – Israel and Iran broke out on February 28 and shows no signs of cooling down. President Trump said on March 23 that Washington and Tehran both wanted to reach an agreement, saying he was in discussions with a senior Iranian leader.

However, Iran later denied the information. Iranian media quoted a senior official in the country as saying that Tehran had reviewed and rejected proposals to end the conflict put forward by Washington, calling them “excessive”.