Trump Says U.S. Could Stay in Iran and ‘Keep the Oil,’ Comparing It to Venezuela

Trump introduces another possible outcome for the Iran war

DOONBEG, Ireland — President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States could remain in Iran and keep the country's oil, drawing a direct comparison with his administration's arrangement involving Venezuelan petroleum reserves, according to Reuters reporting from the Irish Open golf championship.

Trump said the United States would ultimately leave Iran, ‘unless we decide to stay and keep the oil like Venezuela.’ He also repeated his expectation that the Iran war would end this year—possibly after the November midterm elections—and predicted gasoline prices would fall sharply when it ended.

A conditional remark is not an announced policy

The president's statement is significant because it publicly raises the possibility of a prolonged American role tied to another country's natural resources. It does not, by itself, establish that the United States has decided to remain in Iran or take possession of Iranian oil.

Trump announced no executive order, military directive, troop level, map, legal mechanism, agreement with Iran, congressional authorization or implementation schedule. The reviewed reporting also did not identify a public statement from the Pentagon or State Department converting Sunday's remark into operational policy.

The distinction is essential: the president proposed a possible outcome. He did not announce that it had been approved, negotiated or carried out. Headlines or social posts that say the United States has already seized Iran's oil would go beyond the available evidence.

The Venezuela comparison has a specific—but disputed—context

The White House describes its Venezuela arrangement as a U.S.-controlled commercial agreement involving 100-year concessions for 17 oil fields and more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves. Its August fact sheet says the contract is with a private company, not Venezuela's interim government, and provides the United States with governance rights, economic ownership and guaranteed low-cost access to production.

Trump told reporters Sunday that revenue from Venezuela had paid for the cost of the war there many times over. That is the president's claim. The new Reuters report did not cite an independent audit establishing the amount received, the full costs being counted or whether an Iran arrangement could legally or practically follow the same structure.

Iran is a sovereign country with its own government, armed forces and oil industry. A comparison to Venezuela does not create an agreement, transfer ownership or answer what Iranian officials, Congress, U.S. allies or international institutions would do in response.

Claims of peace outreach remain contested

Trump said Iran was calling constantly for peace talks and that he would accept only what he considered the right deal. Reuters noted that Tehran has previously dismissed his assertion that it is repeatedly seeking talks. No new signed ceasefire or oil agreement was announced with Sunday's statement.

The remarks arrive while the Iran conflict and attacks on energy infrastructure continue to disrupt oil markets. The Associated Press has documented crude prices above $100 per barrel and sharply higher U.S. fuel prices. Those market conditions explain the immediate importance of presidential comments, but they do not prove that taking Iranian oil would be lawful, achievable or a quick route to lower prices.

Oil markets react to production, shipping routes, inventories, refineries, military risk and expectations. A promise that gasoline will drop after a war ends is a forecast, not a guaranteed retail price or date.

What would turn the remark into a concrete policy

The next evidence to watch includes a written White House directive, a Pentagon force-posture change, a State Department negotiating position, legislation or authorization from Congress, an agreement involving Iran, or a publicly documented plan governing oil production and revenue.

Until one of those developments occurs, the confirmed news is narrower: Trump publicly suggested that the United States might stay in Iran and keep oil, compared that possibility with Venezuela and predicted lower fuel prices after the war. The duration of U.S. involvement, ownership of Iranian petroleum and terms of any peace remain unresolved.

The featured image is an authentic June 2025 official White House portrait by Daniel Torok. As a federal-government work it is in the public domain. It depicts Trump, but not Iran, oil infrastructure, U.S. military operations, Venezuela or Sunday's appearance in Ireland, and its use does not imply White House endorsement of this report.