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US President Donald Trump has said he wants to “take the oil” in Iran, possibly seizing the export hub of Kharg Island, as Pakistan hosts talks with regional diplomats in a bid to end the war.
Mr Trump's remarks on Sunday came after Pakistan, acting as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington, said it was preparing to host “meaningful talks” between the warring parties in the coming days aimed at ending the month-long conflict. Regional discussions were already under way with two-day talks led by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar alongside his Turkish, Egyptian and Saudi counterparts, aimed at de-escalation between the US and Iran.
“I think we'll make a deal with them, I'm pretty sure, but it's possible we won't,” Mr Trump said of the Iranians on Sunday evening as he travelled on Air Force One to Washington. He said “very good negotiations” had taken place with Iran that day. “We are negotiating with them directly and indirectly. We have emissaries,” he said.
Mr Trump has made a series of conflicting remarks since the beginning of the war, calling for de-escalation and talks, while also pressing ahead with military threats. Iran has played down the state of negotiations, doubling down on its own threats to the US.
The US President said: “I could only say that we’re doing extremely well in that negotiation. But you never know where they’re at because we negotiate with them and then we always have to bomb them.”
The US and Israel have twice launched attacks on Iran during negotiations. In June last year, a 12-day war began, derailing US-Iran talks at the time. On February 28, the current war began despite negotiations.
“To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid people back in the US say: ‘Why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times.
Taking Iran’s oil would involve invading and holding its main export hub, Kharg Island, which also houses an Iranian naval base. The US has sent thousands of troops to the Middle East, raising the possibility of a ground invasion.
Tehran has accused Washington of plotting a ground attack despite pushing for a deal in public and warned it would be ready to respond if US soldiers invaded.
On Sunday, Mr Trump claimed regime change had been achieved with strikes that removed senior Iranian figures. While US-Israeli attacks have taken out former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials, the Islamic republic remains in place, with most lost positions already filled.
“The one regime was decimated, destroyed, they’re all dead,” Mr Trump claimed. “The next regime is mostly dead and the third regime – we’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before … and frankly, they’ve been very reasonable.” But experts have warned that hardliners are coming to the forefront, raising concerns over who the US could still talk to from the Iranian government.
Iran continues to face heavy bombardment from the US and Israel, which have vowed to destroy their enemy's nuclear and military capabilities.
The war has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands, causing the biggest disruption to energy supplies in history, damaging the global economy. Iran has attacked Gulf states and neighbouring countries, hitting civilian infrastructure despite claiming to be targeting US bases in the region.
An Indian worker was killed at a power and water desalination plant in Kuwait that was damaged in an attack. Iran has intensified strikes on Gulf states – despite international condemnation – targeting infrastructure including airports, oil and desalination plants across the region.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis joined the conflict on Saturday, launching attacks on Israel and raising the prospect they could target and block a second key shipping route, the Bab El Mandeb strait, a gateway to the Red Sea.
