Investing.com– U.S. President Donald Trump told the Financial Times on Sunday that he wants to take Iran’s oil and could seize Kharg Island, a major export hub for Tehran.
Separately, a Wall Street Journal report showed Trump considering an operation to extract nearly 1,000 pounds of uranium from Iran.
Get more breaking news on the Iran war by subscribing to InvestingPro
Trump told the FT that he would prefer to take Iran’s oil, comparing the move to an operation in Venezuela earlier this year where the U.S. said it had taken control of the South American country’s oil industry.
Any such U.S. move in Iran will likely involve taking Kharg Island, which exports roughly 90% of Iran’s oil.
“To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran… Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Trump told the FT.
The U.S. had attacked Kharg earlier in March, with Trump claiming that all military targets on the island were “totally obliterated.” He had also raised the possibility of more attacks on the island, including against its oil infrastructure.
Separately, the WSJ reported Trump was considering an operation to extract Iran’s uranium, although he was yet to decide on the move due to the danger posed to U.S. troops. But he remained generally open to the idea.
An operation to directly extract Iran’s uranium is likely to be a complex and risky mission, and could spark bitter retaliation from Tehran. Such a move is also central to U.S. and Israeli attempts to prevent Tehran from creating a nuclear weapon.
Trump has also encouraged his advisers to push Tehran into surrendering the material as a condition for ending the war, the WSJ reported.
The U.S. and Israel had launched air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last year, when the country was believed to have over 400 kilograms of 60% highly enriched uranium and nearly 200 kgs of 20% fissile material.
Washington and Jerusalem have maintained their goal of denting Iran’s nuclear ambitions in their latest round of hostilities with the Islamic republic, which entered its fifth consecutive week.
Hostilities between in the Middle East showed few signs of easing, with the Yemen-based, Iran-backed Houthi group joining the war with attacks against Israel over the weekend. Iran also warned the U.S. against plans for a ground invasion.
The U.S. was seen mobilizing thousands of troops to the Middle East over the past week.