Trump says he wants Iran’s oil, has more than 10k troops heading to the Gulf

Good morning, friends. We have a tight issue this fine Monday morning. But before we dive in:

Donald Trump just told the Financial Times in an exclusive sitdown that his “preference would be to take the oil” in Iran.

Verbatim: “To be honest with you, my favorite thing is to take the oil in Iran, but some stupid people back in the US say, ‘Why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people. Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options. It would also mean we had to be there [in Kharg Island] for a while.”

Trump has ordered more than 10k troops to the Gulf. Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey are running shuttle diplomacy, the world is running out of fertilizers, oil has hovered at around USD 115 / bbl the last few hours, quiet layoffs are hitting the UAE, and Egypt will require most businesses to work from home on Sundays starting next week.

What do you do when you want to hold a piece of land? Put boots on the ground. It’s shaping up to be an interesting week. –Patrick and Salma