Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it 'gets in the way' over Iran issue

President Donald Trump, who arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Sunday aboard Air Force One, has reportedly issued a threat to bomb Oman if it interferes with US negotiations concerning Iran. Fox News reported that the President made this statement during a Monday phone call, also claiming the US had a direct backchannel with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The IRGC subsequently denied any involvement in talks with the US. However, Iranian officials stated on Monday that they were nearing a deal with Iran regarding shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Concurrently, a 60-day Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran, a signed commitment for further talks to reach a final agreement, concluded on Monday.

Oman, which asserts its neutrality in the conflict, has experienced several Iranian strikes since the conflict began. Despite this, it is currently mediating with Iran to facilitate the reopening of the Strait.

Since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, Tehran has largely obstructed the vital waterway, through which approximately one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas typically transits. Reopening it has been a primary topic 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 refuted Trump's assertion, made in the same interview, that the US was engaged in backchannel negotiations with the IRGC, a significant military, political, and economic force in Iran. A spokesman informed the 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's threat to Oman followed Iran's earlier Monday announcement that both sides had reached an agreement for ships to traverse the strait. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that "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 indicated that both sides would finalize details before issuing a joint statement. Oman had previously characterized these talks as positive.

Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that a full reopening depended 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 cargo price from vessels using the strait.

While Trump claimed in his call with Fox that he had a direct backchannel with the IRGC, he also stated he was in no rush to end the war. "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 emphasized that the upcoming November midterm elections in the US had "nothing to do with my thinking." He further argued that the US had no issues with its stockpiled weapons being depleted since the war began, asserting "what we've used is peanuts."

The MoU, signed on June 18, aimed to establish a permanent ceasefire, but temporary peace quickly dissolved after both sides resumed trading strikes. On July 8, Trump declared the ceasefire was "over." As the ceasefire neared its formal expiry on Monday, Trump also posted on his Truth Social network, stating: "The number one goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a nuclear weapon."