United States President Donald Trump has said he wants to “take the oil in Iran” by seizing its export hub of Kharg Island, a plan being opposed in the US by “some stupid people”.In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, published on Sunday, Trump said his plans for Iran differed from those for Venezuela, where Washington intends to control the oil industry “indefinitely” following the abduction of its leader, Nicolas Maduro, in January.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran, but some stupid people back in the US say: ‘Why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people,” Trump told the British newspaper.“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” he added. “It would also mean we had to be there [on Kharg Island] for a while.”The Trump administration has deployed US Marines to the Middle East as the US-Israel war on Iran stretches into its fifth week, and has also been planning to send thousands of soldiers from the army’s 82nd Airborne to the region.On Saturday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said about 3,500 additional soldiers arrived in the Middle East on board the USS Tripoli.US officials, speaking to The Washington Post newspaper, said discussions within the administration over the past month have touched upon the possible seizure of Kharg Island, a key Iranian oil export hub in the Gulf that is the undisputed economic backbone of Iran.According to the Iranian Minist …
