President Donald Trump recently announced that Iran sent him a mysterious “prize” as part of ongoing negotiations. Despite usually being open about gifts he receives, Trump was unusually secretive about this one, leaving many people guessing about what it actually was.
Trump shared the news, describing the item as a “secret prize” from Iran. He told reporters, “They gave us a present, and the present arrived today,” and added, “It was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money.” He kept the details hidden, saying, “I’m not gonna tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize,” only clarifying it was not nuclear-related but “oil and gas-related.”
According to The Daily Beast, senior White House correspondent Jennifer Jacobs noted that Trump further said the gift was “related to the flow, to the Strait,” likely referring to the Strait of Hormuz. This key shipping lane handles around 20 percent of global oil supplies and has been blocked amid the ongoing conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran. Reports indicated that “several people close to the White House said they were baffled by the president’s remarks.”
The Iran conflict is sending mixed signals, with troops on standby and Kharg Island in focus
Some people speculated that Trump may have been referring to the Omega Trader, a supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil. However, those suggestions were downplayed after reports showed it had not actually crossed the Strait. The vessel’s manager also clarified that signal jamming in the area was affecting ship tracking.
Trump has also faced scrutiny over his public statements on Iran’s energy infrastructure, including a since-deleted post about pausing strikes on Iran’s energy sites. The mystery gift comes as Trump has been sending mixed signals about the Iran conflict.
On Tuesday, he declared, “We’ve won this war,” and then claimed, “The only one who likes to keep it going is the fake news.” Despite this, the Pentagon has ordered several thousand paratroopers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.
These soldiers are part of an “Immediate Response Force,” meaning they can be deployed anywhere in the world within 18 hours. There have been suggestions that these paratroopers could be used to seize Kharg Island, located just 20 miles off Iran’s northern Gulf coast.
The island handles up to 95 percent of Iran’s crude oil exports, making it a critical economic asset for the country. Trump has shown clear interest in Kharg Island before, posting after U.S. forces “obliterated” military targets there on March 13, and previously threatening to “wipe out” the oil infrastructure on the island.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham also appeared on television urging Trump to send troops there, saying, “Keep it up for a few more weeks, take Kharg Island, where all of the resources they have to produce oil (are). Control that island. Let this regime die on a vine.”
When asked about who would control the Strait of Hormuz if the war ended, Trump replied, “We’ll have control of anything we want.” His broader Iran claims have also drawn pushback, with a senator directly challenging Trump’s Iran war narrative as false, adding even more conflicting information to an already unclear situation.
Published: Mar 25, 2026 04:15 pm