Trump Floats U.S. Presence in Iran for Oil

President Donald Trump said on September 13, 2026, that the United States could maintain a presence in Iran to keep the oil, comparing the idea to a U.S. arrangement announced in August 2026 involving roughly one-fifth of Venezuela's oil reserves. Speaking at the Irish Open golf championship in Doonbeg, Ireland, he said the U.S. would ultimately get out of Iran unless it decided to stay and keep the oil like Venezuela, and that U.S. revenue from Venezuela had paid for the war many times. He predicted the Iran war could end this year, possibly after the November 2026 midterm elections, and that gasoline prices would drop like a rock once hostilities concluded. Trump said he would only make the right deal and would not do one that was no good, adding that Iran was calling constantly for peace talks, an assertion Tehran has previously denied. The comments came as an attack on a Saudi oil pipeline was reported around the same date, with oil traders expecting prices to rise; other reports cited strikes on oil tankers near Kharg Island and threats to regional energy infrastructure. The U.S.-Iran conflict is described as having escalated markedly beginning February 2026. What remains unresolved is whether any postwar presence or oil arrangement would be pursued and how markets respond to further supply risks.