President Donald Trump has reportedly threatened to bomb Oman, a US ally, if it interferes with his administration’s dealings with Iran, as efforts continue to reopen shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Fox News reporter Trey Yingst said Trump made the remark during a phone call on Monday. According to Yingst, the president said: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them.”
Trump also said during the call that the United States had a direct backchannel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). An IRGC spokesman rejected that assertion, telling Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News agency that no talks were taking place between IRGC officials and the Americans.
The exchange came as Iranian officials said they were close to completing an agreement with Oman on ship movements through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said an understanding had been reached on a transit-route map, with details still to be finalised before a joint statement is issued.
Strait negotiations continue
Oman has described itself as neutral in the conflict and has been struck by Iran several times since it began. It is now involved in negotiations with Tehran aimed at reopening the strait, a major passageway through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally travels.
Iran has largely blocked the waterway since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February. Washington has separately sought to secure its reopening. Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said full reopening depended on US compensation for what Tehran called violations of a memorandum of understanding. Reuters, citing an Iranian official, previously reported that Iran was seeking fees of 5% to 7% of cargo values from vessels using the route.
The 60-day memorandum, signed on 18 June, was intended to support further talks toward a permanent ceasefire. Temporary peace later broke down as both sides resumed strikes, and Trump declared the ceasefire over on 8 July. As the memorandum approached its expiry, Trump said Iran must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Trump also told Fox News he was not in a hurry to end the war, while saying that the November US midterm elections did not influence his thinking and that US weapons stocks had not been significantly depleted.
Source: BBC News
