President Trump revealed that, if it were up to him, he would expand Operation Epic Fury to include seizing Iran’s oil and “tak[ing] care” of the Iranian people. However, he told reporters that he understands that Americans do not want to see the operation broadened, and he intends to respect public opinion.
🚨 JUST IN — PRESIDENT TRUMP on how he'd like to proceed in Iran
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 6, 2026
"If I had my choice, what would I like to do?
TAKE THE OIL!
Because it is there for the taking. There is not a THING they can do about it. Unfortunately, the American people would like to see us come home."
"If… pic.twitter.com/O2JwzCpdti
"The thing, if I had my choice, what would I like to do? Take the oil," President Trump revealed at the White House, Monday. "Because it's there for the taking. There's not a thing they can do about it. Unfortunately, the American people would like to see us come home. If it were up to me, I'd take the oil. I'd keep the oil. I would make plenty of money. And I'd also take care of the people of Iran. Much better than they've been taken care of."
"It's been horrible. They've killed 45,000 people as of a month and a half ago. 45,000 protesters. We don't do that. So if I had my choice, I'd keep the oil. But I also want to make the people of our country happy. I think most people wouldn't understand that," the president added. "I'll give you an example. Venezuela has worked out so incredibly. We have 100 million barrels of oil right now in Houston being refined. It's been great. The relationship with Venezuela, the leaders, has been fantastic. And I think we're going to have a long-term, very good relationship."
This comes as even the president’s supporters, while overwhelmingly satisfied with Operation Epic Fury, have drawn a clear red line at deploying ground troops in Iran, something many Republicans view as reminiscent of the “forever wars” of the past 20 years.
The administration has been adamant that it does not intend to launch another Iraq- or Afghanistan-style war. Despite the president’s personal interest in taking further action against Iran, he appears determined to avoid another quagmire, the very situation his opponents continue to accuse him of engaging in.
