The Financial Times published the most candid admission of the Iran war's purpose yet: Donald Trump wants to take the oil.

In an interview published March 30, the president said he wants to "take the oil" from Iran and could seize Kharg Island "easily." [1] His preference, he said, was to take the oil — before adding that "some stupid people back in the US say: why are you doing that?"

The interview arrived the same day the Islamabad peace talks collapsed without result. Pakistan hosted Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt for quadrilateral talks aimed at finding a ceasefire framework. By evening, Iran was accusing the United States of plotting a ground invasion while publicly seeking diplomacy — the same duplicity Tehran has alleged since the war began.

"We are talking about talks while they are preparing a ground assault," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai said in Tehran. [2] "This is the American way."

Turkey's role in the talks drew particular scrutiny. Ankara sent its spy chief to Islamabad alongside the foreign minister — an unusual dual-track signal that analysts read as Turkey simultaneously facilitating negotiations and gathering intelligence on the ground situation.

"The Turks are playing both sides because both sides want them to," said one regional analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Erdogan sees an opportunity to position Turkey as the indispensable mediator — but only if there is a settlement worth mediating."

Trump's FT interview undermines whatever credibility the Islamabad process retained. The president who authorized the talks via Pakistan has now publicly stated his preferred outcome is not a ceasefire but the seizure of Iranian energy infrastructure. Khamenei was not wrong when he said the ceasefire offers were "performance."

Pakistan's foreign ministry issued a carefully worded statement calling the talks "frank and constructive" — diplomatic language that typically signals failure. No ceasefire framework emerged. No timeline was set for resumed talks. The quadrilateral format, praised days earlier as a breakthrough, produced nothing.

The oil comment is also significant for what it reveals about the Hormuz toll road's future. Kharg Island is the operational hub of Iran's maritime oil infrastructure — the facility that loads the crude Iran now sells through the yuan-denominated toll system established in March. Seizing it would give the US control of the very mechanism Iran used to monetize the blockade.

The war is now one month old. No AUMF has passed. The longest DHS shutdown in American history is entering its 45th day. And the president has told the Financial Times he wants the oil.

Pakistan offered a door. Trump just bolted it shut.

-- Tariq Hassan, Istanbul