President Donald Trump on Monday didn't rule out the possibility that the U.S. could seize Iranian oil as the war against Tehran continues, signaling that the regime must be stripped of its ability to threaten the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East.

In comments to NBC News, Trump declined to directly endorse such a move but made clear it had been discussed.

"Certainly, people have talked about it," he told the outlet.

The president then pointed to Venezuela as an example. After a U.S. raid in January captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the administration moved to secure and access that country's oil reserves.

In last month's State of the Union address, Trump said the U.S. had already obtained more than 80 million barrels of oil from Venezuela.

"You look at Venezuela," he told NBC. "People have thought about it, but it's too soon to talk about that."

Any U.S. move involving Iranian oil could further strain tensions with China, which buys roughly 80% of Iran's crude exports.

China remains America's chief geopolitical rival and a major economic lifeline for the Iranian regime.

Oil prices surged past $100 a barrel over the weekend as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran escalated. Iran, the world's ninth-largest oil producer, accounts for about 5% of global output.

Trump also addressed several other issues in the brief phone interview, including Iran's newly installed supreme leader, the push for stricter election safeguards, and his weekend appearance at a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Asked whether he would endorse Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Republican primary for Cornyn's Senate seat, Trump said his focus remains elsewhere.

"I'm focused on one thing and that's the vote" on the SAVE America Act, he said.

The president stressed the importance of passing the bill, which would require proof of citizenship nationwide to register to vote, among other provisions. The legislation has passed the House but faces steep odds in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to overcome a filibuster.

Asked whether Congress will pass the bill, Trump replied: "I don't know."

"Nobody is doing much on it," he added. "And until they do, I'm not doing anything."

Trump also criticized Iran's selection of Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ali Khamenei, as the regime's new supreme leader.

"I think they made a big mistake," Trump said. "I don't know if it's going to last. I think they made a mistake."

Over the weekend, Trump attended the transfer of the remains of six U.S. service members killed in the Iran war.

"They are great people," he told NBC. "It's always tough."

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