Trump Threatens Iran with the Venezuela Model

In a statement that opens the door to a new scenario regarding the future of the U.S. presence in Iran, President Donald Trump hinted at the possibility of keeping his country’s troops there and “retaining the oil,” invoking the model Washington employed in Venezuela, as pressures related to the war on global energy markets intensify. Trump linked his remarks on Iranian oil to the Venezuelan experience, stating that the United States is profiting from arrangements concerning Venezuelan oil and that those revenues have offset the costs of the war there “many times over.”

In a separate development, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said yesterday that the United States is closely monitoring Houthi movements in the Red Sea, following the rebels’ takeover of the strategically located Perim Island in the Bab al-Mandab strait. Vance told reporters, “This is certainly concerning, and we are watching it closely. We are in constant contact with the Emiratis, Saudis, and other affected parties in the region,” adding that the United States is also holding direct talks with the Houthis.