The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has expressed his intention to "seize Iran's oil", a strategy that, according to the British newspaper 'Financial Times', could involve the control of the Iranian island of Kharg, the departure point for most of the country's hydrocarbon exports.
In an interview published this Sunday, the American leader maintains that his preferred option would be "to seize the oil", establishing a parallel with Venezuela, where Washington aims to control the oil industry "indefinitely" after the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January.
"To be honest with you, what I would most like is to seize Iran's oil, but some fools in the United States ask me: 'Why are you doing that?'. But they are stupid," Trump commented.
The president's words come at a time when the United States and Israel's war against Iran has destabilized the Middle East and caused an escalation in crude oil prices, which have soared more than 50% in just one month. As a consequence, Brent surpassed 116 dollars per barrel this Monday in Asia, placing itself near its highs since the beginning of the conflict.
"Perhaps we will take Kharg Island, perhaps not. We have many options," Trump told the newspaper. "It would also mean that we would have to be there [on Kharg Island] for a while," he added.
Asked about the Iranian defensive capability in Kharg, the leader assured he was confident that the American forces could take the island "with great ease."
At the same time, despite his warnings about a possible confiscation of Iranian oil, Trump stressed that the indirect talks between Washington and Tehran, channeled through Pakistani "emissaries", are progressing positively.
In this context, the president has marked next April 6 as a deadline for Iran to accept a pact that ends the war, or otherwise expose itself to attacks from the United States against its energy infrastructure.
"We have about 3,000 targets left -we have bombed 13,000- and another two thousand to attack," he said. "An agreement could be reached quite quickly."
Last week, Trump assured that Iran had authorized the transit of 10 Pakistani-flagged oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as a "gift" to the White House, although he later indicated to 'FT' that the number had finally risen to 20 vessels.
"They gave us 10," he said. "Now they give us 20, and the 20 have already set sail and are navigating through the center of the strait," he affirmed, pointing out that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, president of the Iranian Parliament and one of the country's main leaders during the war, was the one who allowed the additional shipment of oil tankers.
"He was the one who authorized the ships for me (...) Do you remember I said they were going to give me a gift?", added Trump, who maintains that Iran has already suffered a "regime change" after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and numerous high-ranking officials at the beginning of the war and in subsequent bombings. "The people we are dealing with are a totally different group," he pointed out.