U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at an event with Artemis II astronauts, NASA Commander Reed Wiseman, NASA pilot Victor Glover, NASA mission specialist Christina Koch, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, and others in the Oval Office of the White House on April 29, 2026 in Washington, DC, USA.
Evelyn HochsteinReuter
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he strongly supports the United Arab Emirates’ decision to leave the international oil cartel OPEC, saying he believes the move will lead to lower energy prices.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing,” President Trump told reporters at the White House after meeting with the Artemis II astronauts.
President Trump said UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was “very smart” and said: “He probably wants to go his own way, and that’s a good thing.”
“Ultimately, I think it’s a good thing to bring down gas prices, bring down oil prices, bring down everything,” Trump said, adding, “We have some problems with OPEC.”
Oil prices have skyrocketed since the US and Israel began their war with Iran on February 28th.
In a surprise announcement on Tuesday, the UAE said it would end its long-standing relationship with the group on May 1.
The decision was immediately seen as a blow to OPEC and its 11 remaining members, which have collaborated on setting oil prices and production quotas for more than 60 years.
As of February, the UAE was OPEC’s third largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Abu Dhabi’s energy ministry said in a statement that after reviewing the group’s production policy and capacity, it concluded that leaving the group was in the national interest.
The ministry emphasized its gratitude to the OPEC alliance and said it values the decades-long cooperation with OPEC member countries.
But the announcement came after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also faced repeated missile and drone attacks by OPEC member Iran, which has responded to the war started by the United States and Israel by launching attacks on regional powers.
The Iranian government’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz has also severely limited the UAE’s ability to export oil, threatening its economy.
The Trump administration blockaded Iranian ports in its own retaliation for Iran’s actions in the strait.
The intervention in the strait has brought negotiations to an apparent stalemate. Axios reported Wednesday morning that Iran had proposed a mutual reopening of the strait while postponing nuclear negotiations, a plan rejected by President Trump.
“They’re suffocating like stuffed pigs, and it’s going to get worse. They can’t have nuclear weapons,” Trump told the show.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon, President Trump called his blockade “genius” and “100% foolproof” and suggested it would remain in place until Iran waves the white flag.
“They have to cry,” Trump said, “and they have to give up.”
Asked whether the blockade would be enough to force Iran to the peace table or if more strikes were needed, Trump said it “depends on the situation.”
According to Axios, US Central Command is preparing possible “short, powerful” waves of attacks in hopes of breaking the deadlock with Iran.
—CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.
