'Deal Already Made': India Will Buy Venezuelan Oil Instead Of Iranian, Claims Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump ‌on Saturday claimed that India will ‌buy Venezuelan oil, as opposed to purchasing oil from Iran. Trump's latest comment came a day after the ‌United States told Delhi ‍it could soon resume purchases of Venezuelan oil to help replace imports of Russian oil, three people familiar ‍with the matter told ‍Reuters."China is welcome to come in and make a great deal on oil... We've already made a deal. India is coming in, and they're going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran. So, we've already made the concept of the deal," Trump told reporters while on ⁠Air Force One, en route to Florida from Washington, DC.The US effort to supply Venezuelan crude to India comes as Washington seeks to reduce ‍the

oil revenue that is funding Russia in its ‌war in Ukraine. Trump's claim also coincides with renewed diplomatic engagement between India and Venezuela. Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, recently said she discussed energy cooperation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a phone call shortly after Caracas announced reforms opening its hydrocarbons sector to private companies.

Trump's oil ambitions for Venezuela

Venezuela, which holds the world's largest proven oil reserves, is seeking foreign investment to revive its oil industry after years of state control and sanctions. The Trump administration has also issued a general license allowing oil companies broader operations in Venezuela, a move toward easing sanctions under the new US-backed leadership in Caracas.Earlier this month, while speaking at a press conference, Trump said major US energy firms would invest billions of dollars to revive Venezuela’s battered oil sector, repair damaged infrastructure and restart production. “We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies — the biggest anywhere in the world — go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken oil infrastructure and start making money for the country,” he said.Trump added that the United States would then sell “large amounts” of Venezuelan oil to other nations. “We’re in the oil business. We’re going to sell it to them,” he said, stressing that US companies would bear the cost of rebuilding Venezuela’s oil facilities.(With agency inputs)