Donald Trump has again modified his mind about what he wants from the war in Iran, saying his ‘favourite thing is to take the oil’ a month on from the opening strikes.
The US President has previously claimed he began the war with Israel at the tip of March to encourage regime change and to destroy any likelihood of Tehran constructing a nuclear weapon.
But in a brand new interview with the Financial Times, he compared his plans in Iran to the operation in Venezuela at first of the yr, which ended with the US controlling its oil industry.
Trump told the newspaper: ‘To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran, but some silly people back within the US say, “Why are you doing that?”
‘But they’re silly people.’
He added that the US could take Iran’s Kharg Island, a strategically and economically crucial site within the Strait of Hormuz ‘very easily’ but said ‘we’ve got a number of options’.
Around 3,500 US troops arrived within the Middle East on the weekend as Trump ramps up the military presence there.
The unit, led by the warship USS Tripoli, consists of sailors and marines alongside assault and transport assets.
Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaqari said in a video posted yesterday that the soldiers were being led ‘into the swamp of death’.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, also warned that his country’s forces are ‘waiting for the arrival of American troops to set them on fire’.
Nevertheless, Trump claimed in his interview with the Financial Times that it was Ghalibaf who authorised his ‘present’ of tankers permitted to pass safely through the Strait.
The US took a blow on the weekend when an Iranian strike on the Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia destroyed an E-3 Sentry – a jet value $500m equipped with vital radar capabilities.
At the very least 12 US soldiers were also injured, two significantly, within the attack.
Meanwhile, Keir Starmer is preparing to satisfy business leaders in Downing Street to debate the economic damage which will result from the conflict.
This morning, the Brent crude oil price reached above $116 a barrel in Asia, and it’s on the right track to hit its biggest monthly gain on record.
Senior representatives from the energy, shipping and financial services industries are expected to affix the Prime Minister alongside British maritime operations commander Major General Richard Cantrill.
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