Trump warns US will 'bomb shit out of' Oman if it strays from Washington's line on Iran
US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of Washington’s efforts to reach a deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, according to Fox News.
Fox reporter Trey Yingst said he asked Trump about parallel talks between Iran and Oman over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Yingst, Trump responded: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them.”
The threat comes as Iran and Oman say they have reached an understanding on a maritime transit route through the Strait of Hormuz and are working to finalise details for a joint statement.
Iran and Oman continued talks on Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said, adding that there had been security complications caused by US and Israeli military actions.
“Drawing up the maritime transit route plan with Oman has been time-consuming due to security complexities,” Baghaei said, adding that “the issue is inherently complex”.
Speaking on the proposed mechanism, Baghaei said it would aim to protect the sovereign rights and interests of both Iran and Oman while ensuring the safe passage of commercial vessels.
“This is the first time that a mechanism is being developed to simultaneously safeguard the sovereign rights of the two littoral states and ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels,” he said, adding that intensive talks to finalise a joint statement were continuing.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes, slowed over the weekend.
A total of five commodity vessels transited the strait on Saturday, with none recorded for Sunday, in comparison to 31 vessels transiting last weekend, according to ship tracking data from Kpler.
Trump on Monday said that Iran should raise a “white flag of surrender”, adding: “They're good poker players, but they're dying.”
He also said that Washington had a backchannel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“We have a backchannel with the IRGC. We are speaking directly with the IRGC officials in Iran,” Trump said.
On Gaza, he added: "Israelis should not be striking in Gaza. Hamas agreed to lay down their weapons."
Trump also confirmed that the US maintained a separate channel of communication with Hamas.
“We have a different channel with Hamas, and ultimately they are giving up their guns,” he said.
Washington is attempting to continue pursuing Trump’s peace plan in Gaza, which seeks to disarm Hamas in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from the enclave, despite Israel saying it rejected the proposal.