“You Have to Win First”: Baghaei Mocks Trump’s “Spoils of War” Boast

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has accused the US president of openly portraying Iran’s oil as a potential “spoils of war,” warning that such rhetoric exposes a drive to profit from conflict and likening it to the wartime profiteering portrayed in Joseph Heller’s Catch-22.

In a post shared on X, the official cited the US president as saying, “To the victor belong the spoils,” and that the United States was taking “a lot of oil from Venezuela—billions and billions of barrels of oil… And we’re doing the same in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Baghaei invoked Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 to emphasize the US approach to war and profit, pointing to Milo Minderbinder, the novel’s opportunistic profiteer who turns war into a business opportunity.

Baghaei invoked Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, saying its character Milo Minderbinder epitomizes how war can become a profit-making venture, with individuals pursuing selfish financial interests rather than serving their country.

Baghaei argued that the US president appeared to be applying the same logic to American foreign policy, particularly in relation to Iran.

"The US President appears to be lifting that same logic straight out of the world of fiction and place it at the heart of American foreign policy," he said.

Regarding Iran, the spokesperson said the US president had indicated Washington would pursue the same approach it used in Venezuela. But the spokesperson added that there was a problem with claiming the “spoils of war” before securing victory.

“Before you claim the 'spoils of war', you actually have to win the war—not get stuck in a strait, fall short of your stated (malign) objectives, run low on weapons, and lose credibility along the way,” the spokesperson stressed.

The spokesperson dismissed the notion of Iran’s oil as a US “spoils of war,” saying such claims amounted to little more than a “paper trophy” for a victory that had yet to materialize.

“Milo at least knew how to make profit out of war؛ these people are busy dividing the spoils in front of the cameras before they’ve even laid hands on them,” Baghaei concluded.

Baghaei’s criticism came as Trump’s foreign policy has increasingly blurred the line between military power and economic gain, with the US president openly linking meddling to access to oil and other material rewards.

Trump’s approach to Iran has been described as an “imperial project", with his repeated emphasis on American control over resource-rich territories.

The US president's remarks on Venezuela have likewise highlighted oil, potential profits for US firms, and presidential ambitions as factors shaping Washington’s policy.