Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it gets in way of Iran deal / Photo: Jim WATSON - AFP
Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it gets in way of Iran deal
President Donald Trump threatened Monday to bomb Oman if it "gets in the way" of a US deal with Iran on the Strait of Hormuz and called for Tehran to surrender in a war that has become a growing political burden.
Control of the waterway, which Iran has effectively closed since the conflict began on February 28, remains at the heart of the deadlock between Tehran and Washington.
With whipsawing fuel prices and public opposition to the war weighing on Republicans ahead of November's midterm elections, Trump has faced mounting pressure to end a stalemate that has dragged on for nearly six months.
"If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the shit out of them," Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, referring to ongoing talks between Oman and Iran on control of the strait, which lies between the two countries.
Oman, a US ally in the Gulf, has not publicly commented on Trump's remarks.
Tehran and Muscat have been discussing for weeks future navigation arrangements through the route, and Iran's foreign ministry said earlier Monday the two sides were working on a joint declaration.
Iran's coast flanks the northern side of Hormuz, while Oman sits on the south.
Their talks follow the collapse of a Pakistan-mediated US-Iran interim deal aimed at keeping Hormuz open to traffic.
Renewed fighting over the waterway quickly derailed the arrangement, spreading the conflict to Gulf allies and commercial shipping across the Middle East.
Trump also said that Iran should "put up the white flag of surrender," according to Yingst's account of the interview on X.
The president has repeatedly insisted that the strait is under US control despite traffic remaining heavily throttled.
On Friday, he said he would declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, prompting Iran to retort that the energy chokepoint "will remain Iranian."
Before the war erupted on February 28, the strait was considered an open, international waterway carrying roughly a fifth of global oil supplies as well as other commodities.
Tehran has used its effective control over the strait as leverage against the US-led attempts to destroy its military and force it to abandon a controversial nuclear power program.
Trump insisted that he was in no hurry to reach a deal despite the unpopularity of the war and opposition Democrats seeking to take control of Congress from the Republicans in the midterm elections.
He told Yingst that there is a direct back-channel between his administration and officials of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
"They're good poker players, but they're dying," he was quoted as saying.
- 'Utilizing diplomacy' -
The rhetoric came as allies continued pressing for negotiations.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the conflict in a phone call with Trump, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu.
Erdogan stressed the importance of "fully utilizing diplomacy" to ease tensions between Iran and the United States and said Ankara would continue supporting efforts to secure peace.
The Strait of Hormuz remains the central flashpoint in the conflict.
The narrow passage links Gulf producers to international markets and its closure triggered a surge in oil prices earlier in the war, prompting warnings from major importing nations about supply disruptions.
As Iran restricts traffic in Hormuz, its Houthi allies in Yemen have declared a parallel maritime blockade on Saudi ports in the Red Sea, the kingdom's only alternative maritime route for oil exports.
Iran wants to control access to the strait and charge transit fees, powers it did not exercise before the war and which Washington strongly opposes.
The closure of Hormuz has driven up fuel prices for US consumers, creating another political challenge for Trump as November's midterm elections approach.
O.Berger--BVZ
