WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman, a longtime U.S. ally, if the Gulf state interferes with Washington’s Iran negotiations, Fox News reported.
During a phone interview with Fox reporter Trey Yingst, Trump was quoted as saying: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them.”
The threat highlights tensions over efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global oil shipments that has been largely closed for nearly six months amid the U.S.-Iran conflict. About one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes through the strait, according to BBC News.
Both the U.S. and Oman have been separately negotiating with Tehran to restore shipping lanes. Iranian officials said Monday they were close to finalizing a deal with Oman on a transit route map. However, talks between Washington and Tehran remain uncertain as a 60 day Memorandum of Understanding expires.
Oman, which borders the southern side of the strait, has positioned itself as neutral despite suffering Iranian strikes. The country has played a key role in mediation efforts.
During the same interview, Trump claimed the U.S. has a direct backchannel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). An IRGC spokesman dismissed the assertion as “fantasies caused by delusions and nightmares” from Trump’s “defeat and desperation in the war.”
Trump also said he was in no rush to end hostilities. “They’re good poker players, but they’re dying,” he said. “I have no time schedule. I’m not in a hurry.”
The June 18 MoU was meant to establish a ceasefire and partially reopen the strait, but collapsed when both sides resumed strikes. On July 8, Trump declared the ceasefire “over” and harshly criticized Iran’s leadership.
As the agreement neared expiry Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social: “The number one goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a nuclear weapon.”
Iran’s foreign minister earlier said full reopening depended on U.S. compensation for alleged MoU violations. Reuters, citing an Iranian official, reported Tehran sought fees of 5% to 7% of cargo prices from vessels transiting the strait.
