U.S. And Iran Keep Clashing. Trump Claims Washington Could ‘Stay’ And Keep Its Oil.

President Donald Trump floated the idea that the U.S. could and keep Iran's oil and have a permanent presence in the country.

Trump made the comments while visiting Ireland and attending a golf tournament during the weekend. "We'll ultimately get out (of Iran), ​unless ⁠we decide to stay and keep the oil like Venezuela," Trump said. He added oil revenue from Venezuela has "paid ⁠for ​the war many times."

He was making reference to the operation in which then-authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by U.S. forces. Maduro and his wife faced criminal charges in the U.S. and have been imprisoned in Brooklyn ever since.

However, both scenarios are different. Whereas the primary military operation in Venezuela was over within hours and was conducted on the ground by U.S. special force along with air support, the Iran conflict has gone on for months and has embroiled much of the Middle East.

Trump said that Iran was "calling constantly" to work out a deal but that he was only interested in making the "right" one. Iran in the past has denied that it is reaching out and asking for talks.

Despite Trump's remarks, Iran and its regional allies have not shied away from expanding the conflict. For example, Houthi forces in Yemen, who are allied with Iran, moved south and took the port city of Mokha.

Mokha is a strategically significant point along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that could be used to put pressure on Saudia Arabian oil shipments.

Trump's comments regarding Iranian oil come as the U.S. faces sky-high prices for diesel. According to AAA, the average price of diesel has risen to $6.23 per gallon. Last year at the same time the average price of diesel hovered around $3.69 per gallon.

The price of diesel has caught Trump's attention as he also addressed Ukrainian strikes against Russia this weekend. CNBC reported that Trump called on Ukraine to stop hitting Russian oil refineries in that nearly five-year-old war.

"Mr. Zelenskyy has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia," Trump said Sunday in Ireland. "Let him go after targets but not diesel fuel because he's causing a shortage of diesel. This isn't done by the Middle East; this is done by what's happening with Russia and Ukraine."