Trump Says He’d ‘Take the Oil’ If He Had His Choice on Iran (Q&A)

President Trump says he would like to “take the oil” if he had his choice “because it’s there for the taking,” in regards to Iran, and that the US could leave right now but he wants to "finish it up." President Trump spoke to reporters after the White House Easter Egg Roll ahead of a press conference this afternoon.  Iran rejected a proposed ceasefire as Donald Trump ramped up his threats less than two days before the US president’s ultimatum to re-open the Strait of Hormuz or face further attacks on civilian infrastructure.

“They don’t want to cry, as the expression goes, ‘uncle,’ but they will, and if they don’t, they’ll have no bridges,” Trump told reporters Monday at the White House. He added that it was “highly unlikely” that he’d move the deadline again.

The president is set to address reporters at a press conference at 1 p.m. in Washington.

Iran demanded a permanent end to the war, lifting of sanctions, and reconstruction efforts, in addition to protocol for safe passage through Hormuz, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA. The rejection, delivered through Pakistani mediators, is the latest blow to efforts to end the month-long war that has triggered a global energy crisis.

Trump cast Iran’s recent proposals as a “very significant step” but not enough to end the fighting.

US allies are reportedly pressing for a last-minute deal with Iran, as Trump extended his deadline to Tuesday for Tehran to reopen the vital waterway, keeping markets on edge over whether a breakthrough can be reached.

Oil prices swung between losses and gains as traders remain focused on real-world movement of oil barrels amid mixed messaging on peace talks. Brent crude traded near $109 a barrel while US crude hovered near $112 a barrel.

Axios reported that Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey are pushing to secure a potential ceasefire — lasting about 45 days — to head off threatened US strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure and retaliation by the Islamic Republic against countries in the region. Trump also pushed back on charges that destroying Iranian bridges and power plants would constitute a war crime — as outlined under the Geneva Conventions.

“I’m not worried about it,” Trump said. “You know what’s a war crime? Having a nuclear weapon, allowing a sick country with demented leadership to have a nuclear weapon — that’s a war crime.”

In an expletive-laced post on Sunday, Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants and blow up “everything over there,” before announcing what appeared to be a new Tuesday 8 p.m. deadline, without offering details. The move adds to a series of extensions since he began issuing similar ultimatums on March 21 to force Iran to reopen the strategic waterway.

Fighting continued, with Israel, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates reporting Iranian attacks overnight into Monday. Israel struck Iran’s biggest petrochemical facility, which is responsible for 50% of the petrochemical production in the country, Defense Minister Israel Katz said.

Even amid repeated delays, Trump has pointed to ongoing negotiations between his envoys and Iran’s leadership, which he has yet to identify, aimed at ending the war triggered by US and Israeli attacks in late February.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei acknowledged the exchange of messages with the US, but reiterated Tehran is seeking a definitive end to the war instead of a mere pause, according to Shargh newspaper. Baghaei was cited by state TV as saying a short-term detente without no guarantees that the cycle won’t be repeated is something “no rational person would do.”

The fighting has left thousands dead, most of them in Iran and Lebanon, and brought vessel traffic through Hormuz — through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas exports normally flow — to a near standstill.

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