Source NDTV
US President Donald Trump delivered a stark warning to Oman on Monday, threatening military action if the Gulf nation interferes with Washington’s efforts to secure a deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. In a phone interview with Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, Trump stated that if “Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s*** out of them”. He further added that Iran should “put up the white flag of surrender”.
The aggressive remarks come as Oman and Iran have been engaged in ongoing technical negotiations to establish a provisional arrangement for safe commercial navigation through the strategic waterway. The Strait of Hormuz, a crucial artery that once handled approximately one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies, was effectively closed following the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict in late February.
While Iranian diplomats indicated that an understanding regarding the transit route’s map had been reached with Muscat, the talks have moved slowly. The US has been attempting to implement its own arrangement to reopen the strait and lift its blockade of Iranian ports, and Trump’s threats underscore Washington’s frustration with the parallel Iran-Oman negotiations.
Despite the expiration of a 60-day negotiating window, Trump indicated he was “not in a hurry” to resolve the conflict and that the US naval blockade was successfully placing severe economic pressure on Tehran. This is the second time Trump has threatened Oman, a traditional US ally and regional mediator; he previously warned in May that the nation must “behave like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up”.
