E-Paper
‘Will bomb the s*** out of Oman’: Trump's latest threat over Strait of Hormuz blockade row
Donald Trump also said that the blockade is putting pressure on Iran and that he has no timeline for resolving the conflict, declaring he isn’t in a hurry.
US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman if the country gets in the way of Washington's blockade of Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz, saying that he will “bomb the s*** out” of Tehran's neighbour.
"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, while Washington is also pursuing its own talks.
Trump also said that Iran should "put up the white flag of surrender," according to Yingst's post on X on his interview with the president.
"I have no time schedule. I'm not in a hurry...the midterms have nothing to do with my thinking," Trump added.
The conflict with Iran has caused oil and gas prices to spike, putting pressure on Trump’s Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections.
The war has dragged on for nearly six months with no resolution in sight. Talks between the US and Iran aimed at bringing about a lasting peace have stalled, and intermittent clashes keep flaring up, disrupting the flow of oil and other key commodities through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
The Iran-Oman Hormuz deal reached?
Iran said Monday it has reached an agreement with Oman on a plan for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between the two countries, and that the sides are now working to finalise details of a joint statement.
Iranian foreign affairs spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route.”
He did not elaborate, but details that have previously emerged suggest the deal would reopen the strait, with ships entering through a route near Iran and exiting through one near Oman. Ships would transit without paying fees or tolls during the interim period.
Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz after Israel and the US attacked the country on February 28. It is a vital commercial shipping route, with roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies passing through the waterway before the war threw a wrench in it.
Baghaei conceded the talks with Oman have gone slowly, “but we had planned, and still plan, to finalise the understanding in the form of a package: the map plus a joint statement.”
