The president of the United States, donald trumpsaid Thursday that it is more important to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons than control oil prices.
“The United States is by far the largest oil producer in the world, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, for me, as president, it is of much greater interest and importance to stop an evil empire, Iran, from having nuclear weapons and destroying the Middle East and even the world,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Trump has been oscillating in his statements about the conflict that began with Israel on February 28, with a salvo of major bombings that ended the life of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameneiand a good part of the government leadership.
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At the beginning of this week he described the offensive as a “short excursion”, but later he also told followers that his obligation is to “finish the job” started.
The conflict has caused great global nervousness because about 20% of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and Tehran has attacked several tankers.
Iran could also have started mining the area, despite the US attacks, which according to Trump hit at least 28 Iranian Navy mine vessels.
The US military is “not ready” at this time to escort oil tankers through the strategic strait because all its resources are mobilized to attack Iran, the Secretary of Energy said Thursday.
Donald Trump could make the decision in 10 days whether or not to attack Iran. (Image generated with AI, Chatgpt).
“It will happen relatively soon, but it can’t happen now. We’re just not ready,” Chris Wright told CNBC.
“Right now, all of our military resources are focused on destroying Iran’s offensive capabilities and the manufacturing industry that supplies those offensive capabilities,” he said.
Wright added that it is “quite likely” that those escort operations will take place towards the end of this month.
IEA member countries agreed on Wednesday to release 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves, their largest outlay to date.
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The United States will release 172 million barrels, Wright said, under a swap agreement under which 200 million barrels will return to its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) “within a year.”
However, the measure failed to allay fears about the suffocation of energy supplies, as the Strait of Hormuz was practically closed.
Wright said he would hold meetings at the Pentagon on Thursday to discuss possible US Navy escort programs.
