Trump insists Iran war ‘not about oil’ as Venezuela playbook fears grow and global supply shock deepens

President Donald Trump said that the US war against Iran is “not about oil,” even as the conflict triggers what is being described as one of the largest disruptions to global energy supplies in history.

US President Donald Trump, in a 9 pm ET White House address on April 1, called the US-Israel war on Iran a success, saying Washington is “winning bigger than ever before” under Operation Epic Fury. He began by congratulating NASA on the Artemis II launch, set to travel farther than any previous crewed rocket.

According to CNBC website, Trump asserted that the United States is no longer reliant on Middle Eastern oil, framing the conflict as a strategic effort aimed solely at supporting its allies rather than securing energy resources.


“We’re now totally independent of the Middle East, and yet we are there to help,” the president said. “We don’t have to be there. We don’t need their oil. We don’t need anything they have. We’re there to help our allies.”

The Iran war

The war began on February 28, when US and Israeli forces carried out coordinated strikes across Iran, including a targeted attack that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Highlighting advances in the military campaign known as Operation Epic Fury, Trump said the conflict is entering its final phase and could be resolved within weeks.

“We are going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast,” he said, adding that he expects the war to last another two to three weeks.

Amid a wider effort to reshape global energy dynamics, Trump’s comments follow US actions in January that saw Washington oust Venezuela’s former president Nicolas Maduro and move to exert control over the country’s oil exports.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran has triggered one of the largest oil supply disruptions in history, with Asia expected to face fuel shortages first, followed by Europe.