US Presidential Candidate Outlines Plan to Seize Iranian Oil
Speaking from Mar-a-Lago on April 3, 2026, former US President Donald Trump stated that given more time, the United States could 'take the oil' from Iran. His comments came amidst reports of a weeks-long Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which he claimed Washington could 'easily' reopen. Mainstream outlets like Al Jazeera framed this as a mere presidential remark, focusing on the
feasibility of reopening the Strait. This framing conveniently omits the deeper, historical reality of US foreign policy, which has demonstrated a consistent pattern of eyeing and often seizing resource-rich territories. The discussion is not whether the US *can* reopen a waterway, but whether a leading political figure is openly advocating for the theft of sovereign assets, a blatant violation of
international law that would typically be condemned as an act of war. This rhetoric is not new. The US has a long history of intervention aimed at controlling vital resources, often under the guise of security or liberation. In 1953, the CIA orchestrated a coup in Iran to reinstate the Shah, largely to protect British and American oil interests after Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh nationalized
the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Today, the 45-year US sanctions regime against Iran, which cripples its economy and starves its people of critical goods, is a direct tactic to de-stabilize the government and gain leverage over its vast oil and gas reserves. The estimated cost of these sanctions to Iran’s economy has exceeded one trillion dollars since 2018 alone, demonstrating that 'taking the oil'