Trump suggests U.S. could seize Iranian oil as Hormuz talks stall

President Donald Trump told reporters at the Irish Open golf tournament that the United States could continue its campaign against Iran and take control of Iranian oil, drawing a parallel to a deal reached earlier this year with Venezuela. He said revenue from the Venezuela arrangement, which gave Washington access to about one-fifth of that country's oil reserves, has "paid for the war many times."

Trump added that he expects the seven-month conflict with Iran to end later this year, possibly after the November midterm elections, and that gasoline prices would "drop like a rock" once hostilities cease. He said the United States would only make a "right deal" and claimed Tehran has been "calling constantly" for peace talks, a statement Iran has previously rejected.

Diplomatic talks on the Strait of Hormuz have stalled. Oman’s foreign minister Badr Albusaidi announced on social media that a meeting of Gulf states and Iran, scheduled for Monday to discuss a possible Iran-Oman shipping route, was postponed to allow time for consensus. No direct U.S.–Iran negotiations are currently underway.

The strait has been the focus of a naval blockade by Iran and the United States since the war began in February, contributing to elevated global energy prices. A June agreement between Washington and Tehran fell apart over disagreements about the waterway, and recent attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have heightened tensions around the nearby Bab el-Mandeb passage. Oil prices rose above $100 a barrel for the first time since May after Saudi Arabia shut a key east-west pipeline following damage from Iraqi drones.