## Trump Signals 'A Little More Time' Needed for Hormuz Opening, Floats Seizing Oil as Israel Hit by Major Rocket Barrage
Former President Donald Trump has stated the U.S. needs "a little more time" to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while publicly floating the prospect of seizing oil from the region to "make a fortune." His comments come as Israel faces one of its most intense attacks in recent months, with Iran and Hezbollah firing over 140 rockets during the Jewish Passover holiday, marking a significant escalation in regional hostilities.

The strategic waterway remains a critical flashpoint. A French-owned vessel recently became the first Western-linked ship to transit the Strait since the conflict intensified, signaling a tentative, fragile thaw after weeks of a near-total shipping freeze. However, the broader maritime and energy landscape remains under severe pressure. Iran has targeted Gulf infrastructure, including a Kuwaiti desalination plant, while United Arab Emirates defenses have been actively intercepting large-scale missile and drone waves, causing disruptions to regional energy facilities.

The U.S. military posture is concurrently hardening. With some U.S. Special Forces units already deployed in the region and thousands more Marines and Sailors en route, Trump's timeline suggests a period of continued major strikes on Iran, which he earlier indicated could last two to three more weeks. This convergence of a sustained military buildup, a direct assault on a U.S. ally, and the explicit linkage of strategic objectives to resource seizure creates a volatile matrix for a wider regional conflict, placing global energy security and shipping lanes under unprecedented scrutiny.
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- **Source**: ZeroHedge
- **Sector**: The Network
- **Tags**: Strait of Hormuz, Iran-Israel Conflict, Oil Security, Maritime Trade, Middle East Tensions
- **Credibility**: unverified
- **Published**: 2026-04-03 13:56:52
- **ID**: 49185
- **URL**: https://whisperx.ai/en/intel/49185