President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman – a US ally – if it “gets in the way” of his administration’s own talks with Iran, Fox News reports.
A reporter for the network said the US president made the comment during a phone call on Monday, during which he also said the US had a direct backchannel with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The IRGC later denied it was involved in talks with the US. But Iranian officials said on Monday they were close to finalising a deal with Oman on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, the 60-day Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) ends on Monday. The memo was a signed commitment from both the US and Iran for further talks to reach a final agreement.
Oman, which says it is a neutral country in this conflict, has suffered a number of strikes from Iran since the conflict broke out. However, it is now playing a role in negotiating with Iran to reopen the strait.
Since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, Tehran has largely blocked the vital waterway – through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes. Reopening it has been a key point of discussion.
Washington has pursued its own efforts to secure the reopening. Fox reporter Trey Yingst quoted Trump as saying: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them.”
An IRGC spokesman denied Trump’s claim, which was made in the same interview, that the US was involved in backchannel negotiations with the IRGC – which is a major military, political and economic force in Iran.
A spokesman told semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim News: “There are no talks taking place between IRGC officials and the Americans, and this lie by Trump is merely fantasies caused by the delusions and nightmares he has suffered as a result of defeat and desperation in the war.”
Trump made his threat to Oman after Iran said earlier on Monday that the two sides had reached an agreement for ships to travel through the strait.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters in Tehran “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route”.
In his statement, reported by the BBC’s US partner CBS News, Baghaei said both sides would finalise the details before issuing a joint statement. Oman has previously described these talks as positive.
Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a full reopening depending on Iran receiving compensation from the US for what Tehran described as violations of the MoU.
Reuters – citing an Iranian official – previously reported that Tehran was seeking fees of between 5% and 7% of the price of cargoes from vessels who travel through it.
While Trump said in his call with Fox that he had a direct backchannel with the IRGC, he said he was in no hurry to bring a war to a close.
“They’re good poker players, but they’re dying,” he was quoted as saying. “I have no time schedule. I’m not in a hurry.”
The president also stressed the upcoming November midterm elections in the US had “nothing to do with my thinking”. He also argued the US had no issues with its stockpiled weapons being depleted since the war broke out, arguing “what we’ve used is peanuts”.
The MoU, signed on 18 June, aimed to bring both sides to a permanent ceasefire but temporary peace fell apart not long later after both sides began trading strikes.
On 8 July, Trump declared the ceasefire was “over”.
As the ceasefire neared its formal expiry on Monday, Trump also posted on his Truth Social network to say: “The number one goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a nuclear weapon.”
