Amid dozens of threats and escalating rhetoric against Iran, President Trump has taken a major step back on a key issue for energy markets: U.S. efforts to control Iranian oil.
“I want to take the oil because it’s there and can be taken,” the president told reporters at the White House Easter Egg Roll. “Unfortunately, the American people want to see us come home.”
The president repeatedly said on Monday that he personally wants access to oil. “We’re going to make a lot of money,” he said
But the president has repeatedly acknowledged that there may not be the political will to take such a step, which would likely require action on the ground, saying: “I just don’t think the American people will really understand.”
“I’m a businessman first and foremost,” Trump said of the U.S. effort to capture some of Venezuela’s oil revenues. He expressed his nostalgia for the old days of “winner takes all.”
Read more: What a long war with Iran means for gas prices
Monday’s comments — which followed escalating threats to destroy Iranian bridges and power grids as early as Tuesday night — appeared to reduce the likelihood of potential U.S. action, which energy traders and observers have been watching closely for weeks.
An operation to seize Iranian oil would be risky and costly and would likely require the use of ground forces to seize strategic locations such as Al-Kharg Island, a seaport that handles up to 90% of Iran’s oil exports.
Read more: How the oil price shock hits your wallet (from gas to groceries)
Further seizure of Iranian oil production, which is mostly drilled onshore in the country’s southwest, would be a more complex operation in itself.
Trump has repeatedly teased the idea of seizing oil for weeks.
On Friday, the president posted, “Anyone keeping the oil?” Another message earlier in the day suggested that with “a little more time,” oil would be easy to extract and the world would be rich.
The ongoing U.S. operation includes a missile strike on Kharg Island, but Trump and his aides have repeatedly said that only military targets were hit and oil infrastructure was not affected.
At other times, Trump has threatened further steps, suggesting destroying Iran’s oil infrastructure.
The president posted on March 30 that he might leave Iran, but only after “bombing and completely destroying” targets such as Khag Island.
Ben Werschkul is Yahoo Finance’s Washington correspondent.
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