US president Donald Trump has suggested his forces could stay in Iran and “keep the oil“, drawing a parallel with a US push to take control of a fifth of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
Trump reiterated that he still expected the Iran war to end this year even as the gridlock over talks on the Strait of Hormuz continue. Trump added that the price of gasoline would “drop like a rock” once the Iran war ended.
On Monday crude oil spiked to $107 a barrel, one of the highest since the US and Israel launched its war on Iran.Trump said that he would only make the “right deal”, before drawing a parallel with the US deal in Venezuela, announced in August.
“We’ll ultimately get out (of Iran), unless we decide to stay and keep the oil like Venezuela,” Trump said, adding that the US revenue from Venezuela has “paid for the war many times”.
Meanwhile, Oman said it had to postpone a meeting scheduled for Monday in Muscat with Iran and other regional countries to discuss the Strait of Hormuz “in the interest of consensus”.
Trump says US could keep Iranian oil like Venezuela deal
President Donald Trump suggested that US could stay in Iran and “keep the oil”, drawing a parallel with a US push to take control of a fifth of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
On a trip to Ireland for meetings and to watch golf, he reiterated that he still expected the Iran war to end this year, possibly just after midterm elections due in the US in November.
Speaking at the Irish Open golf championship, Trump added that the price of gasoline would “drop like a rock” once the Iran war ended.
Trump said that he would only make the “right deal” and wouldn’t do one that was “no good”, adding that Iran was “calling constantly” for peace talks — an assertion that Tehran has dismissed in the past.
But the president also introduced another option: stay engaged with Iran. He drew a parallel with the US deal in Venezuela, announced in August.
“We’ll ultimately get out (of Iran), unless we decide to stay and keep the oil like Venezuela,” Trump said, adding that the US revenue from Venezuela has “paid for the war many times”.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar14 September 2026 05:50
Trump denies China helped Iran before attack that killed US troops
US president Donald Trump brushed aside a report that Iran acquired satellite images of a base in Jordan from Chinese entities before an attack that killed three US troops.
The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed US officials about the attack in Jordan.
Asked whether he would mention the issue at an upcoming meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping, Trump did not directly answer, and instead equated the surveillance activities of China and the United States.
“They basically do what we do,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“When they say China spies on us, I say you’re right and we spy on them too.”
Trump on Sunday reiterated his view that he has a good relationship with Xi. “I think he’s behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well,” Trump said as he flew back to the US after a weekend trip to Ireland.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar14 September 2026 05:40
Iran says one killed in strike on commercial ship
One person was killed and three injured after an Iranian commercial vessel was struck off Qeshm Island, the largest island in the Persian Gulf that sits on the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported.
Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations monitor reported a vessel was hit by a projectile while transiting the strait, with no details. It was not immediately clear if it was the same strike.
There was no immediate statement by the US military, which has previously struck Iranian-flagged vessels as it keeps up a blockade of Iranian ports. On Saturday, the military said its forces had redirected 100 commercial vessels over the past 60 days.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar14 September 2026 05:20
Saudi Arabia lifts warnings of potential attack in four cities
The Saudi Civil Defence sent an all-clear this morning after issuing alerts for potential danger in four southern cities amid an uptick in attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.
Saudi Civil Defence had issued the alerts for the cities of Najran, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Abha. It also later issued warnings for Khamis Mushait and Abha a second time before lifting them again.
The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have been launching attacks towards Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July, with strikes targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar14 September 2026 05:00
Oil prices jump more than 2% to $107 after new strikes
Oil prices jumped more than 2 per cent this morning after new Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and Iranian attacks on ships in the Gulf compounded supply concerns following the closure of a key Saudi oil pipeline.
Brent crude futures rose $2.90, or 2.77 per cent, to $107.51 per barrel. WTI futures rose $2.27, or 2.27 per cent, to $102.32 per barrel. Prices had initially risen more than 3 per cent at market open.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar14 September 2026 04:45
Oman postpones meeting with Iran and regional countries on Hormuz
Oman said it had to postpone a meeting scheduled for today in Muscat with Iran and other regional countries to discuss the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran and Oman are located on either side of the strait, and Tehran had said foreign ministers from various regional countries would meet in Oman to discuss its management.
But the foreign minister of Oman, Badr Albusaidi, said on X yesterday that the meeting had been postponed “in the interests of consensus”.
Iran and Oman agreed to postpone the talks “at the request of some regional countries,” said Mohammad Ali Bak, an official in Iran’s foreign ministry who was quoted by IRNA on X.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar14 September 2026 04:35
In pictures: before and after an attack on the Saudi Arabia East-West pipeline
Bryony Gooch14 September 2026 03:00
Recap: Surge in activity reported at Iran nuclear site Trump threatened
Satellite images reveal surge in activity at Iran nuclear site Trump threatened
Trump said the US would have to hit Iran ‘very hard’ if they found they’d been working on Pickaxe MountainBryony Gooch14 September 2026 02:00
Watch: Trump says he has ‘no regrets’ over Iran war
Bryony Gooch14 September 2026 01:00
New attacks in Hormuz and Saudi test nerves as war’s spread worsens oil disruption
New strikes on Saudi Arabia and on ships in the Gulf tested nerves in the Middle East on Sunday, after an attack on a Saudi oil pipeline and an advance by Yemen’s Houthis threatened to worsen the wartime disruption to global energy supplies.
Oil traders were expecting prices to rise again when markets reopen on Monday, following the weekend developments that jeopardise supplies from the world’s biggest exporter, Saudi Arabia.
The British maritime security agency UKMTO said on Sunday that a vessel had been struck by a projectile as it moved through the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire and forcing the crew to be evacuated. Iran, for its part, said one person was killed and four crew wounded aboard an Iranian commercial vessel struck off its coast.
In Saudi Arabia, state media released video of damage to homes and a mosque from the purported latest cross-border attack by the Houthis, in Jazan province in the south. The Houthis claimed separately to have struck a Saudi military base in a neighbouring province.
Southern Saudi cities have experienced regular alerts since last week, culminating in drone strikes on Friday that knocked out the 1,200-km (745-mile) east-west pipeline across the Arabian Peninsula that has served as the main route for global supplies of Middle East oil bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
That same day, the Houthis captured Perim Island, which lies in the middle of the Bab El-Mandeb, the “Gate of Tears” strait that controls the mouth of the Red Sea.
Bryony Gooch14 September 2026 00:00NewerOlder