Transcript of Trump Venezuela Oil Deal, US & Iran Renew Strikes, House Back From Recess

The U.S. and Venezuela struck an oil deal that President Trump says will lower gas prices.

The plan depends on an unelected government staying in power. So what happens to the push for democracy in Venezuela?

I'm Emi Martinez. That is Leila Fadel. And this is Up First from NPR News. The war with Iran is flaring up again. The U.S. struck Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, its first attack in a month. Iran fired back at American bases in Jordan and the UAE.

And the House Congress is back for one week with one main job: keep the government open. A funding bill has already cleared the Senate, and President Trump is on board. With the midterm elections closing in, Republicans are searching for a message that cuts through the high prices and an unpopular president. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. President Trump announced the U.S. will be taking majority control of more than 65 billion barrels worth of Venezuelan oil.

Trump says the deal with Venezuela's unelected government will help lower gas prices. It's not clear, though, if or when that might happen. And it comes as Trump struggles domestically and can't seem to get out of an unpopular war with Iran. It's also raising new questions. The biggest one: What happens to democracy in Venezuela?

For more on the agreement, we have NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Good morning.

Good morning, Leila.

OK, so the headline is Big oil deal reached between the US and Venezuela. What's in the fine print?

Yeah, Leila, I mean, specifics are really scarce, but a US official not authorized to speak publicly about the deal told me that the US government is entering a joint venture with a private company in Venezuela. The US has not named that company, but through this venture, the US would effectively control 55% of the venture's output through a combination of equity ownership and access to oil at cost. But as you've said, no info about how long this will take, and it really could take a long time considering how run-down the Venezuela system is.

We mentioned the questions about the future of democracy in Venezuela. How serious is that concern?

I mean, it's very real and a growing concern after the US captured then-Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. I mean, the administration outlined a 3-phase strategy for Venezuela, and it started with stabilization, then it went to reviving the economy, and then it was supposed to move to a 3rd phase of transition and new elections. Well, this deal throws all of that into question. I was talking with Benjamin Gaddan, who led the Venezuela portfolio in the Obama White House, and he says this really has the potential for a fundamental change in what Washington actually wants out of Venezuela.

On that long list of US considerations, democracy, we believe, was always the kind of guiding principle for US policy, and now it has fallen either very low down that list or off that list entirely.

And Ghadan said that Trump is signing basically a long-term oil arrangement that will largely depend on the current regime staying in power.

Let's talk about Venezuela's interim president. Delcy Rodriguez is also touting this deal. On Saturday, she called it a win for her country. Is it a win?

Yeah, I mean, it's very complicated. I mean, there's no question that Venezuela badly needs investment into its oil industry, which is producing well below its historic production levels. I mean, the U.S. would also benefit from greater access to Venezuela oil. But what are the political costs? I mean, we're already seeing big pushback out of Venezuela, as well as in South Florida and Miami, that the US is basically taking part of Venezuelan sovereignty while also legitimizing an unelected government.

What about risks for the US? Political, economic?

Now, one of the reasons the US is doing this is because big companies were slow to invest. And that's because Venezuela has been an unreliable partner. I mean, the ExxonMobil CEO actually went so far as calling Venezuela uninvestable. And politically, it just feeds a longstanding criticism of this idea of an imperialist America that is only interested in Latin America for its natural resources. And experts like Gadea argue that it's a recipe for another anti-American revolution, the kind that brought Hugo Chávez to power and who nationalized the oil industry decades ago.

That's NPR's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Thank you, Franco.

Thank you, Layla.

For the first time in nearly a month, the U.S. and Iran resumed their exchange of fire.

The U.S. said its forces attacked 2 Iranian launchers that were about to disperse sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz. That prompted Iran to retaliate by targeting U.S. bases in Jordan.

For more, we turn to NPR's Hadil Elshalchi in Istanbul. Good morning, Hadil.

Good morning, Leila.

So what do we know about the attacks?

Well, we know that on Sunday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard put out a statement saying that a U.S. drone attack had killed some of its troops on Larak Island. That's a strategically located island near the Strait of Hormuz that Iran uses as a military post. A little later, the U.S. military said in their statement it had struck those launch sites that you mentioned earlier after it had observed Iranian forces preparing to launch mines out into the Strait of Hormuz. According to Central Command spokesperson, the U.S. military had finished clearing sea mines from the strait's international shipping routes just last week. Iran then retaliated by firing ballistic missiles at U.S. bases in Jordan. The Jordanian armed forces said today that they intercepted 8 missiles entering the country's airspace. And then also the UAE's Ministry of Defense said it intercepted drones coming from Iran. And then in a separate incident, a supertanker caught fire after being struck by 2 naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian forces said the tanker had been trying to pass the waterway without permission and warned that any other vessel violating Iran's navigation restrictions would face similar consequences.

Okay, so does this mean we're back to seeing a wider wave of attacks and counterattacks coming?

I think right now it's too early to tell if this will turn into a full-blown, days-long exchange of attacks. But the rhetoric coming out of Iran is forceful after last night. In a statement today, the Iranian Ministry of Affairs said that Iran will, quote, not hesitate to exercise the inherent right of self-defense. And U.S. CENTCOM responded saying that Sunday's strikes were not an act of aggression, instead calling them, quote, limited and precise to prevent Iranian forces from laying more mines. But like you said earlier, these are the first strikes in around a month. The last time the U.S. launched a wave was on July 29th. And then a couple of days later, President Trump ordered U.S. forces to hold off on Iran further attacked, saying that he had held conversations with leaders of Gulf countries, like I mentioned, the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain. They've all had to bear the brunt of Iran's retaliations because Iran's been targeting US bases and other assets in those countries.

Hadila, we're now entering the 7th month of this war. What has changed for Iran since then?

Well, I can tell you that one thing that has touched almost all Iranians is the worsening economic situation. The price of food, gas, the general cost of living just generally has skyrocketed. Some estimates show that inflation is nearly at 90% now. Last week, President Trump said he wanted to make that situation even worse by ramping up sanctions in Iran. Very little details were offered on, like, the practicalities of how this would work.

Mm-hmm.

Trump also said that he wasn't in a hurry to start talks with Iran. Iran's leaders have been emphasizing they won't reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless the U.S. fulfills promises it made in June after a ceasefire was announced. But maybe one very important consequence is that while one of the goals of going to war with Iran was regime change. The war seems to have more entrenched the government in Iran.

NPR's Hadeel Hilshalchi in Istanbul, thank you, Hadeel.

You're welcome.

The House of Representatives is back in town for one week.

They've just spent 5 weeks back in their districts. The main item on the docket now: fund the government.

NPR congressional reporter Eric McDaniel is in studio to share more. Hi, Eric.

Hey, good morning.

So how does Congress plan to keep funding the government?

Well, right now, as we talk, the deadline for funding— government funding to lapse is at the end of September. But the vote this week would be a stopgap measure funding the government through December that would avoid a shutdown during the midterm elections, Leila, which I don't have to tell you is apparently a bipartisan wish at this point. And It's already passed the Senate, so the House vote this week is more or less a final step before it heads to the president's desk for a signature.

I imagine this is an easy thing for Trump to get behind, too.

Yeah, the White House actually put out an official document stating as much, a statement of administration policy. It said the stopgap would prevent, quote, another dangerous shutdown that harms hardworking families and forces federal employees to go without pay, end quote. It also said that the president opposes another, quote, futile government shutdown. And it's just worth remembering here, we've already seen 2 record-setting federal government shutdowns in the second Trump administration.

What else are you watching?

The House also might vote on this censure resolution, essentially a condemnation vote. It's targeted at Chuck Edwards, a North Carolina Republican. The House Ethics Committee previously recommended this step after finding that Edwards may have created or fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment, all in violation of House rules. Edwards dropped his reelection bid. already, but he's lobbying his colleagues against this measure. We've also seen a number of House ethics scandals this term. 2 Democrats and 1 Republican have resigned their seats. Democrat Eric Swalwell and Republican Tony Gonzalez were involved in sexual misconduct scandals. Democrat Sheila Sherfilius McCormick is facing federal fraud charges. And there are more cases, too. I'll say all of the folks I've mentioned deny wrongdoing.

Not much time left before midterm voting starts. How does that play into the dynamics on Capitol Hill right now?

Yeah, I'm watching Republican campaign trail messaging, right? They're in a tough spot across the board. Americans are and have been upset about the cost of living, making it hard for Republicans to tout their legislative wins from last year, including changing rules for taxes on tips and creating tax-advantaged investment accounts for kids. Not something that directly, you know, addresses the ways people are feeling pinched. The GOP has largely focused on the attack, characterizing their Democratic opponents as communists and Republicans really have a lot of structural forces against them. The president's party nearly always loses seats in the midterms, particularly with a president this unpopular in the White House. And they really only have a tiny slice of seats to spare in order to hold on to their majority.

Is there anything structural that favors Republicans?

Well, they did come out slightly ahead in the mid-decade redistricting fight kicked off last year by the president. You might remember he asked the state of Texas to you know, draw more safe seats. And that kicked off a fight across the country. They have a few more safe seats than the last time they were on the ballot. But with the headwinds they're facing, it's not really much of a cushion. I'm still waiting to see if they can find any affirmative message that breaks through with voters. Right now, the Republicans I've talked to in Congress say, you know, they're still looking.

That's NPR congressional reporter Eric McDaniel. Thank you, Eric.

Thank you, Leila.

This week on The Sunday Story, we feature a conversation between Ayesha Rascoe and Shaboozy. The country singer and rapper wants us to remember our history accurately.

The cowboy image, you know, we tend to think that was just a white man, you know, on a horse with a cowboy hat. But, you know, 1 in every 4 cowboys were Black.

On The Sunday Story from Up First, Shaboozy talks about his latest album and the Black roots of country music. Listen to The Sunday Story in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. And that's Up First for Monday, August 31st. I'm Leila Fawad.

And I'm Amy Martinez. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Dana Farrington, Villa Marks, Mohamed Elbardisi, and Adam Beirne. It was produced by Ziyad Baj and Nia Nomas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hynes. Our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.