Trump says US could stay in Iran and keep oil, like Venezuela deal

By Bo Erickson and Conor Humphries

DOONBEG, Ireland, Sept 13 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday the ​United States could stay in Iran and "keep the ‌oil", drawing a parallel with a U.S. push to take control of a fifth of Venezuela's vast oil reserves.

On a trip to Ireland ​for meetings and to watch golf, he reiterated that ​he still expected the Iran war to end this year, ⁠possibly just after midterm elections due in the United ​States in November.

Speaking at the Irish Open golf championship, Trump ​added that the price of gasoline would "drop like a rock" once the Iran war ended.

Turmoil in the Middle East has roiled oil ​markets, with oil traders expecting prices to rise again ​on Monday after an attack on a Saudi oil pipeline.

Trump said that ‌he ⁠would only make the "right deal" and wouldn't do one that was "no good", adding that Iran was "calling constantly" for peace talks — an assertion that Tehran has dismissed in the past.

But ​the president ​also introduced ⁠another option: stay engaged with Iran. He drew a parallel with the U.S. deal in Venezuela, ​announced in August.

"We'll ultimately get out (of Iran), ​unless ⁠we decide to stay and keep the oil like Venezuela," Trump said, adding that the U.S. revenue from Venezuela has "paid ⁠for ​the war many times."

Reporting by Bo ​Erickson in Doonbeg and Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries in Dublin, writing ​by Alistair Smout, editing by Philippa Fletcher and Andrew Heavens