Donald Trump Threatens To Bomb Oman If It Gets In The Way Of U.S. Iran Efforts

Trump threatened to bomb Oman because he’s unhappy with country’s deal with Iran, officials say Trump threatened to bomb Oman because he’s unhappy with country’s deal with Iran, officials say CAIRO (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman because he is unhappy the country is close to a deal with Iran to manage ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, two regional officials said on Tuesday, a day after Trump leveled the threat. The officials said the Trump administration has told Oman it is opposed to parts of the yet-to-be-announced deal, including the joint Iranian and Omani management of the exit route out of the passage that’s critical to global supplies of oil and natural gas. The officials were briefed on the U.S. position and how the administration views Oman’s position. Meanwhile, a projectile hit a ship as it sailed out of the strait, and a cargo vessel was rendered a “constructive total loss” by multiple projectiles off the coast of Yemen, according to the British military’s maritime monitoring agency. The defense ministry of the United Arab Emirates said two ballistic missiles were launched from Iran toward the UAE. An Iranian official said the strait would not reopen until the United States meets Iran’s conditions. US believes Oman has not been tough enough with Iran The U.S. believes Oman has not been tough enough in its negotiations with Iran and is unhappy with Oman’s agreement to collect voluntary fees from vessels, even if the charges are related to security and maritime environmental protection, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists. Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman as it works with Iran on a deal to open the strait and pave the way for the U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations to end the war. He posted a map on social media on Tuesday depicting the strait as U.S. territory. The president first mentioned the idea in an offhand comment last week. On Monday, he told reporters in the Oval Office, “I like the idea of declaring it a territory,” without providing details. The White House on Tuesday referred to Trump’s remarks in the Oval Office and declined to comment further about Oman. Iran refers to Trump’s ‘delusion’ about the strait Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi appeared to respond to Trump’s post on social media depicting the strait as American territory. “Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the eternal Persian Gulf, his delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will soon either be corrected, or we will correct this deluded man’s delusions for him,” Gharibabadi wrote on X. Trump’s comment on Monday was not the first time he has threatened Oman. In May, he told reporters during a Cabinet meeting that Oman “will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up.” Iran reiterated Tuesday that Tehran plans to maintain its grip on shipping traffic until Washington meets its conditions. “Until the United States fulfills its commitments under the agreement, including lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, lifting oil sanctions, ending threats and military operations on all fronts, and implementing the other conditions to which it committed, the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen,” said Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and negotiator in previous talks with the U.S. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the Iranian-Omani deal could pave the way for Washington and Tehran to return to negotiations for a “comprehensive and permanent deal that addresses all concerns and enhances regional security and stability.” The statement came after a meeting between Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Omani counterpart Badr al-Busaidi. But it did not address Trump’s latest threat against Oman. Trump insists the strait is open as more attacks are reported Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. has no planned talks with Iran but insisted the strait is “open and operating,” despite limited traffic, the reported boat strike and the end on Monday of the 60-day negotiating period between the countries. Trump wrote on social media that a U.S. blockade of the strait remains “in full force and effect,” adding that all water mines have been removed. As the talks between Iran and Oman continue, more attacks were reported in the region. Both missiles fired at the UAE fell into the sea, the UAE Defense Ministry said. No damage or injuries were reported. Iran disputed the UAE’s claim that it launched missiles toward the country. The ministry later said assessments showed that the missiles targeted maritime traffic. It was not clear whether they directly targeted UAE ships or the country’s territorial waters. In the weeks after the U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28, the UAE was frequently targeted by Iranian missiles and drones, but Tuesday’s reported attack was the first in weeks. An unidentified projectile hit a ship early Tuesday in the strait off the coast of Oman, damaging the engine room and causing a casualty, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center. The monitoring agency did not release any details about the ship or its cargo, and it was unclear whether the crew member was killed or wounded. The agency said the Omani Coast Guard was assisting other crew members and that authorities were investigating. Elsewhere, the cargo ship that was deemed a loss was struck about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) southeast of Mokha, Yemen, the UKMTO center reported. The center did not identify the projectiles or those responsible. The Iran-aligned Houthi rebels resumed attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea in July and escalated attacks on Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces. The renewed assaults have threatened shipping through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, another key global trade route. In other developments, the Houthis claimed they fired drones at an oil refinery in neighboring Saudi Arabia, the latest attack that threatened to reignite Yemen’s civil war and open another front in the Middle East. The attack targeted a facility run by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, according to a report by the Houthi-run SABA news agency. There were no immediate reports of damage or comment from Saudi Arabia. ___ Associated Press writer Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to this report.

Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman if it 'gets in the way' over Iran deal 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. The US and Oman have been negotiating separately with Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that is vital to the global economy. It has been largely closed for nearly six months during the US-Iran war. A reporter for Fox said the US president made the threat to Oman while using an expletive during a phone interview. Earlier in the day, Iranian officials said they were close to finalising a deal with Oman. Meanwhile, the future of talks between the US and Iran is unclear as a 60-day Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two sides is expiring. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump was asked by BBC News if he was seeking an extension to the MoU, to which he replied: "No." Since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, Tehran has largely blocked the Strait of Hormuz - 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. Oman borders the southern side of the Strait and says it is a neutral country in this conflict. However it has suffered a number of strikes from Iran and is now playing a key role in negotiating with Tehran to reopen the waterway. 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." It is not clear what Trump thinks would constitute getting in the way of his ambitions for a deal. During the same interview with Fox, Trump also said the US had a direct backchannel with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is a major military, economic and political force in Iran. An IRGC spokesman denied Trump's claim. 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 a few hours after Iran had said the two countries had reached an agreement for ships to travel through the Strait. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters "an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route". Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a full reopening was dependent 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 the Strait. 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 the 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 Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran, signed on 18 June, was designed to bring about a ceasefire and at least partly reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But it fell apart a short time later when both sides resumed strikes. As the MoU neared its formal expiry on Monday, Trump posted on his Truth Social network: "The number one goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a nuclear weapon."

Follow . See earlier developments below.What to know about the Iran war: - Monday marked 60 days since the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding that called for a wider peace deal to be negotiated within that timeframe. After multiple flare-ups and suggestions of an imminent accord, there do not appear to be any concrete plans to end the 24-week war. - President Trump threatened Monday to bomb Oman if the country "gets in the way" of U.S. efforts to war with Iran, according to Fox News. Earlier, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tehran had reached an agreement with Oman regarding future shipping routes in the strait. and end the - Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump's son-in-law and adviser, met Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, a day after holding talks with to discuss the latest U.S.-backed peace proposal for the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu rejected the U.S.-backed proposal last week. Asian allies stress "critical cooperation" as Trump slashes Korea drills Japan underlined on Tuesday that security cooperation with the United States and South Korea was "critical" for the region's stability, after President Trump alarmed allies by scaling back military drills with Seoul while hailing his ties with Pyongyang. Mr. Trump abruptly announced on Sunday that he had ordered the Pentagon to scale back "inappropriate and hostile" military drills with South Korea. The following day he insisted he was making the situation "much safer" through his ties with the North's Kim Jong Un, whom he met three times in his first term but has yet to encounter since his return to the White House. While praising the leader of nuclear-armed North Korea, he rebuked key ally Seoul for failing to help Washington fight Iran, a war Mr. Trump says is aimed at stopping Tehran from getting an atomic bomb. Pressed about whether Kim had responded to his messages, the president told reporters in the Oval Office: "Yeah, he has." Mr. Trump said "it's very positive" when asked what stage the conversations with Kim were at, but provided no further detail. He then doubled down on his praise for Kim, saying their ties reduced tensions. "Kim Jong Un has always treated me with great respect," the president said. "I understand him. He understands me." U.S. stocks fall further from record highs as oil prices rise U.S. stocks edged further from their record heights on Monday after rising oil prices cranked up the pressure on inflation and financial markets. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% but remains near its all-time high set Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 272 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3%. Wall Street's losses solidified in the afternoon when oil prices accelerated upward. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 2.7% to $90.87. It's been careening back and forth because of uncertainty about what the war with Iran will do to the global flow of crude. Last month alone, Brent zigzagged between $72 and $102 as hopes rose and fell that the United States and Iran could reach a deal that would allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf again. Iran's foreign ministry condemns drone attack on Iraqi Kurdish prime minister's office Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei condemned Monday's , portraying the incident as a ploy to undermine bilateral relations.Baqaei described the drone attack at the office of Masrour Barzani, the prime minister of Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, as "a highly suspicious development that requires vigilance and careful attention," according to a statement carried by state news agency IRNA. "He also underscored the need for all sides to work to thwart the sinister plots of the enemies of Iran and Iraq aimed at harming the brotherly relations between the two nations," IRNA said. Iran's foreign ministry said its top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, also held a phone call with his Iraqi counterpart on Monday. "Nothing justifies the reckless attack on PM Barzani's office. Kurdish friends should be vigilant against false-flag ploys to sow discord between neighbours," Araghchi said on X. The regional counterterrorism service said the drones were launched from the border with Iran, and there were no casualties Since the start of the Middle East war, the Kurdistan region, which hosts U.S. troops and foreign oil firms as well as rebels exiled from Iran, has been targeted with more than 1,000 attacks by Tehran and pro-Iran armed groups inside Iraq. Trump claims concerns about USS Lincoln are "fake" President Trump on Monday downplayed reports about conditions for sailors and Marines , which has been at sea for nine months, calling them "fake news.""The Lincoln has been out there for a period of time, a good period of time, but over the years, we've had it out there much longer," Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. The president said he spoke to an admiral, whom he did not name, over the weekend and that the retired officer told him: "I've been on ships that are out there much longer than that, sir, and I know people on the Lincoln. They say it's beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of." A number of that mental health conditions on the ship are deteriorating, and there have been some complaints about sanitary conditions and food supplies during the amid the U.S.-Iran war. A typical deployment is six months, but the service members aboard the USS Lincoln have been deployed for .U.S. Central Command Adm. Brad Cooper and said deployment at sea is " uniquely challenging and tough," though he did not confirm or deny any specific issues.Kushner says Iran is "not showing any interest" in a deal that makes sense for the U.S. Jared Kushner told Fox News on Monday that as the 60-day memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran expires, Iran doesn't appear to be willing to finish the deal and give up nuclear weapons. "[President Trump] is willing to make a deal that could be great for the Iranian people … but right now they are not showing any interest in doing something that makes sense for us," Mr. Trump's son-in-law and adviser said in an interview with Fox News' Trey Yingst. Kushner said Iran has to be willing to make a fair deal without trying to "hide certain cards and get certain concessions." Despite the roadblocks, Kushner said the U.S. and Iran are "having very positive conversations." "You can't make deals with each other if you don't understand each other. You have to exchange views," Kushner said. "There's not a lot of trust between America and Iran after all these years of not having these relations and dialogues." Trump says he likes the idea of making the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory President Trump in the Oval Office Monday said making the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory is "a great idea." "We control it. We control it with the blockade," he told reporters. "I like the idea of declaring it a territory. We have total control over the strait. Now, they can be a nuisance, they can put a mine in the water … but the blockade has been very effective." Mr. Trump also said the U.S. is moving barrels of oil out of the strait. But, the strait remains without normal tanker traffic and oil prices ticked higher Monday. Trump: Iran won't "make the kind of deal that I feel is necessary" Speaking in the Oval Office Monday, President Trump said Iran wants to make a deal, but "they're not going to make the kind of deal that I feel is necessary." "Look, we're in there for one reason: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," he said. He didn't say anything more about where negotiations stood. Monday marked the end of a 60-day negotiating period, agreed to by the U.S. and Iran in a memorandum of understanding, for a wider peace deal. Trump says U.S. can handle Oman "very easily" Asked if he was out of patience with Oman by a reporter in the Oval Office Monday, President Trump said, "No, I don't think they behaved very well, but we'd handle them very easily, just like we do other things." The exchange comes after a Fox News correspondent said Mr. Trump told him the U.S. would bomb Oman if the country "gets in the way" of U.S. efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war with Iran. Trump's Board of Peace calls talks with Netanyahu "deep and constructive" President Trump's Board of Peace, which includes his son-in-law Jared Kushner, said in a statement that discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Mr. Trump's peace plan for Gaza were "deep and constructive." "It was agreed that there will be no IDF redeployment from Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed and all of Gaza is demilitarized - every weapon, light and heavy, and every tunnel," a Board of Peace official said. "Israel retains its full right of self-defense: if Hamas resorts to terror, violence, or attempts to rearm, Israel will retain the right to act accordingly. "The Board of Peace informed the Prime Minister that Hamas has committed to fully disarm and to cease immediately all military activity in Gaza, including rearmament and tunnel digging." The parties agreed to set up two working groups: one on security and demilitarization of Gaza and the other on basic needs for the people of Gaza, the official said. CENTCOM: U.S. redirected 64 vessels, disabled 3, boarded 2 The U.S. military as of Monday has redirected 64 commercial vessels under its naval blockade on Iran, according to U.S. Central Command. It has disabled another three vessels and boarded two, CENTCOM said on X. The military provided the numbers alongside a photo of what is said shows a Navy MH-60 Sea Hawk hovering over the flight deck of USS Mason, as the ship enforced the blockade. Iraqi Kurdish prime minister's office targeted in drone attack Two officials in northern Iraq were targeted in drone attacks that the regional counterterrorism service said were launched from the border with Iran. One was fired at the office of Masrour Barzani, prime minister of Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region. The other targeted the home of a top regional intelligence official, the counterterrorism service said. There were no casualties and no immediate claim of responsibility. Barzani on X called the attack "a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region." Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, said the U.S. strongly condemns the attack "on our friend and valued Kurdish partner" Barzani. "Such aggression against our trusted Kurdish allies is unacceptable and a direct threat to regional stability," he said, adding, "We will not condone or tolerate these hostilities." Iran and Iranian-backed Iraqi militant groups have launched regular attacks on U.S. military and diplomatic facilities in Iraq and on bases of exiled Iranian Kurdish dissident groups since the start of the Iran war, but Monday's direct attack on regional government buildings was unusual. U.S. stocks open mostly lower, oil prices tick higher Wall Street stocks were mostly lower early Monday to open a week that includes earnings from large retailers and Federal Reserve meeting minutes. Oil prices ticked higher as markets monitored back-and-forth between Iran and the United States over the Strait of Hormuz, which remains without normal tanker traffic. "It's going to be a bit of a quiet week with very few inputs," B. Riley Wealth Management's Art Hogan said of the tempo in mid-August, a popular time for vacations. About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3% at 53,585.28. The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 7,774.62, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was flat at 26,724.05. Traffic falls in Strait of Hormuz, say maritime monitors Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell last week, according to two maritime monitors, with no end in sight to the grinding conflict between Iran and the United States. Crossings through the key waterway fell 19.5%, according to Marine Traffic and Kpler, declining from a high of 19 on Aug. 11 to just three on Aug. 16. Of the total 95 crossings, 51 vessels used the route established by Iran, while 44 used other routes, according to Marine Traffic. Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb, the gateway to the Red Sea, where Iranian-backed Houthi forces have attacked Saudi ships, increased slightly to 254, up from 238. "Yet security conditions remain volatile," said Kpler. "Two attacks on 11 August resulted in six seafarer fatalities and 10 injuries, underscoring the gap between resilient traffic volumes and persistent regional risk." Pentagon signs $22.9B deal for Tomahawk missiles amid reports of shortages The Pentagon announced a $22.9 billion contract with weapons manufacturer Raytheon on Monday for Tomahawk missiles amid reports of a shortfall due to the war with Iran. Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the contract will "accelerate Tomahawk missile delivery to our warfighters at unprecedented speed." "Guaranteeing our naval and joint forces have the lethal firepower they need to deter aggression and protect the homeland is paramount," Cao said in a statement. "The Department is utilizing every available tool to meet the demands of our current operations." An analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank released last month found that U.S. stocks of Patriot and THAAD air defense missiles have been slashed by the conflict with Iran. Before it began in late February, the United States had more than 2,300 Patriot and more than 450 THAAD interceptors - figures that CSIS estimated have been roughly halved or more in the subsequent months of war. The Washington Post reported this month that President Trump had demanded answers from Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth about munitions shortages at a recent cabinet meeting. Mr. Trump and Hegseth both later denied that the U.S. was faced with dwindling missile stocks. Tomahawk missiles are mainly launched from submarines and warships and can travel more than 1,000 miles. CBS/AFP Yemen's Houthi rebels claim attack on Saudi military ship in Red Sea Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis claimed Monday to have targeted a Saudi military vessel and four accompanying military vessels off the coast of Mokha, Saudi Arabia, in the Red Sea. Houthi forces "managed to target a military landing ship belonging to the Saudi enemy, along with four accompanying military boats in the Red Sea off the coast of Mokha, using a number of ballistic missiles," Houthi military spokesperson Yehya Saree said in a post on X. "The strike was accurate and direct, resulting in the complete burning of the ship, the sinking of a number of the boats, and the burning of the remainder," he added. The Houthis said several weeks ago that they would enforce a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports. The two sides have been at war since 2015, when Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen's civil war on the side of the Western-backed government, against the

• Threat to Oman: President Donald Trump warned of an attack on Oman if it “gets in the way” of efforts in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump previously threatened the US ally in May. • Iran agreement expires: The 60-day deadline for the two sides to reach a deal toward ending the conflict has now passed. Trump again said he is in no rush and claimed his administration has established a direct backchannel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the IRGC denies. • Main priority: The president reiterated that the top goal in the war is preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, undercutting advisers who say keeping oil prices low is an important priority. • Gaza ceasefire plan: Meanwhile, after Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today for over four hours, Kushner said Hamas could disarm soon but indicated the US would support further Israeli military action in Gaza if not. US special envoy Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for more than four hours Monday, pressing him to move forward with the US-backed Gaza ceasefire plan. Kushner said Hamas could disarm soon but indicated the US would support further Israeli military action in the territory if the group does not. Meanwhile, tensions over the Strait of Hormuz mounted after Trump threatened to attack Oman if it interfered with efforts to ease the crisis in the critical waterway, as a 60-day deadline for the US and Iran to reach a deal to end the conflict expired. If you’re just catching up, here’s what to know: Gaza news - Kushner described the nearly four-hour long meeting with Netanyahu to Fox News as “very, very good,” saying they were able to address “some valid concerns” raised by the Israeli prime minister. - Kushner said that Hamas officials “said all the right things” in their meeting on Sunday, but “it’s very, very hard to trust, you know, a terrorist organization that committed these terrible atrocities.” - Netanyahu told Kushner that Israel would not withdraw any of its forces in Gaza or allow reconstruction to begin until the complete disarmament of Hamas, according to a senior Israeli official. US-Iran tension - Vessel movements through key shipping channels remains depressed. MarineTraffic data shows at least three commercial ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the last 24 hours: two tankers moved into the Persian Gulf, while one vessel exited into the Gulf of Oman. - Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani accused Iran of launching drone attacks targeting his office and the residence of the head of the Kurdish intelligence agency Parastin. Tehran denied the allegation and suggested the incident may have been a “false flag” operation. - Trump pushed back on reports of dwindling supplies and low morale on the USS Abraham Lincoln, calling recent reporting from CNN “fake news.” Since the Lincoln left its home port of San Diego, the carrier has been deployed for more than 250 days after being redirected to the Middle East to support US operations in the war with Iran. - Trump also suggested that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have recently communicated, a day after announcing that he plans to reduce military exercises with key regional ally South Korea over a lack of help in Iran. CNN’s Mostafa Salem, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Eyad Kourdi, Jennifer Hansler, Molly English, Alayna Treene, Tal Shalev and Avery Schmitz contributed to this report. Vessel movements through two significant shipping channels is still depressed, months into the US-Iran war. Before the war, an average of about 110 ships transited the waterway daily. Farther west, at least 37 commercial ships transited the Bab al-Mandeb strait over the same period. Nineteen vessels entered the Red Sea — 13 cargo ships and six tankers — while 18 left into the Gulf of Aden, consisting of 13 cargo ships and five tankers. The United States, in a statement published by the Defense Department, said that “CENTCOM forces have redirected 64 commercial vessels, disabled 3, and boarded 2 to ensure compliance,” as of August 17. GPS spoofing also remains a concern, as navigation systems interference causes ships’ broadcast positions show up in the wrong places, throwing vessels’ reported coordinates off by dozens of miles and complicating monitoring efforts. Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Monday accused Iran of launching drone attacks targeting his office and the residence of the head of the Kurdish intelligence agency Parastin. Tehran denied the allegation and suggested the incident may have been a “false flag” operation. No casualties were reported in the attack, the security agency said. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack. “Based on information and investigations conducted by the Counter-Terrorism Directorate in the Kurdistan Region, it has been confirmed that my personal office and the residence of the President of the Parastin Agency were subjected today to Iranian attacks using drones,” Barzani said in a post on X. Barzani condemned the “reckless and unacceptable attacks,” saying they constituted “a serious escalation and a direct threat to the security and stability of the region.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei rejected the accusation on Monday, telling state-run IRNA that reports of an attack on Barzani’s office were a “highly suspicious development” requiring vigilance and careful scrutiny. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi echoed that position in a separate post on X, condemning the attack while questioning who was responsible. “Nothing justifies the reckless attack on PM Barzani’s office,” Araghchi wrote. “Kurdish friends should be vigilant against false-flag ploys to sow discord between neighbors.” The KRG, based in Erbil, is the governing authority of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, with its own president, parliament, cabinet and security forces known as the Peshmerga. US special envoy Jared Kushner claimed that “progress could come quite soon” in Gaza if both sides cooperate, but indicated the US would support further Israeli military action in the territory if Hamas does not disarm. “If Hamas actually gives over the weapons in the tunnels willingly over the next 60 to 90 days, that obviously would be the elimination of a huge security threat for Israel, almost an unthinkable achievement,” Kushner said in an interview with Fox News after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday. Kushner said that Hamas officials “said all the right things” in their meeting on Sunday, but “it’s very, very hard to trust, you know, a terrorist organization that that committed these terrible atrocities.” “We had a very cordial meeting,” he said. “And so we’re going to give them a chance to perform, but it’s going to have to be based on actions and steps.” Kushner described the nearly four-hour long meeting with Netanyahu on Monday as “very, very good,” saying they were able to address “some valid concerns” raised by the Israeli prime minister. “We were able to go through some of the misunderstandings and misinformation,” such as on Israel’s right to defend itself and Gaza’s reconstruction, Kushner said. President Donald Trump pushed back on reports of dwindling supplies and low morale on the USS Abraham Lincoln Monday, calling recent reporting from CNN “fake news.” Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office that there was enough food on the aircraft carrier, despite sailors and family members telling CNN the ship has experienced intermittent food shortages, low supplies of hygiene items and problems with the water system. “The Lincoln has been out there for a period of time, good period of time,” Trump continued. “But over the years we’ve had them out there much longer.” Since the Lincoln left its home port of San Diego last November, the aircraft carrier has been deployed for more than 250 days after being redirected to the Middle East to support US operations in the war with Iran, now entering its sixth month. The ship may break a record for the longest trip away from its home port for a US carrier since the Vietnam War. Trump then referenced a meeting with a retired admiral over the weekend: “He said, ‘I’ve been on ships that are out there much longer than that, sir, and I know people on the Lincoln. They say it’s beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of, and other people went out and they found that to be true.’ That was fake news reporting from CNN.” President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have recently communicated, acknowledging it a day after announcing that he plans to reduce military exercises with key regional ally South Korea over a lack of help in Iran. Trump told reporters that Kim has responded to the White House’s requests to “have a conversation,” without detailing the substance of that response. Trump announced the reduction in military exercises on Sunday, just hours before they were due to get underway, citing his positive relationship with Kim and South Korea’s lack of assistance with Iran. The president also dismissed criticism that he is prioritizing the interests of adversaries like North Korea over long-term allies, arguing his approach to Kim is making the world safer. “I’m making it much safer. I’m actually making it much safer. Kim Jong Un has always treated me with great respect. And we met on numerous occasions, actually two primary occasions. Spoken and spent time,” Trump said, referencing meetings with Kim during his first administration. “I understand him. He understands me. … I get along with him very well. What I’m doing is making things safer,” he added. Last year, Trump administration officials privately discussed setting up a meeting between Trump and Kim around the president’s October trip to Asia. CNN previously reported that Trump’s initial outreach to the North Korean leader earlier in 2025 never received a reply because the North Koreans would not accept the letter. After a lengthy meeting in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace once again demanded the complete disarmament of Hamas before any withdrawal of Israeli forces within Gaza, according to an official with the US-backed organization. “It was agreed that there will be no IDF redeployment from Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed and all of Gaza is demilitarized - every weapon, light and heavy, and every tunnel,” said the official after the meeting that lasted more than four hours. Board of Peace director Nickolay Mladenov took part in the meeting with Netanyahu, as did US envoy Jared Kushner and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. The official made no mention of Netanyahu’s recent rejection of the latest 15-point ceasefire plan, which had been hailed by Trump as a major breakthrough. Instead, the official said that the Board of Peace and Netanyahu have agreed “on a path forward.” “The Israelis are going to give this a chance,” the official said. “Now it’s up to Hamas to show if it truly intends to comply.” Hamas has refused to unilaterally disarm without the end to Israel’s near-daily attacks in Gaza and the concurrent withdrawal of Israeli forces. The Board of Peace informed Netanyahu that Hamas has agreed to disarmament and to halt its military activity in Gaza. In exchange, Netanyahu affirmed that Israel would “honor its outstanding commitments,” according to the official. It’s unclear what - if any - changes Netanyahu agreed to make, since a senior Israeli official said Israel would not stop its targeted killings of Hamas commanders. The focus on Hamas contrasts with a joint statement Sunday from a number of Arab and Muslim countries - including mediators Qatar and Egypt - that blamed Israel for the stalled ceasefire plan. Pointing to Netanyahu’s rejection of the latest plan, the countries said: “Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US envoy Jared Kushner that Israel would not withdraw any of its forces in Gaza or allow reconstruction to begin until the complete disarmament of Hamas, according to a senior Israeli official. The two also agreed that an American general would oversee the decommissioning of Hamas weaponry, the official said, which would be the first step in the demilitarization of the shattered enclave. Hamas has refused to disarm unless it is sequenced with an end to near-daily Israeli attacks on Gaza and the beginning of a withdrawal of Israeli forces currently occupying more than half of the territory. Board of Peace director Nickolay Mladenov and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair also took part in the meeting. According to an official readout from Netanyahu’s office, the group agreed to establish working groups on disarmament and on sanitation, clean water, and public health issues. According to a separate Israeli source, Netanyahu said that making progress on the Trump administration’s latest 15-point ceasefire plan for Gaza — which Israel rejected — would be “problematic” because of the upcoming Israeli elections. The source also told CNN that Netanyahu insisted Israel would not change its policies on the ongoing targeted killings of Hamas commanders. On Friday, President Donald Trump said he plans to declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory after “we finish defeating Iran,” which he said would happen “pretty soon.” Days before, the president claimed the US had “total control” over the waterway. “We own it, and at some point, maybe they’ll do something, and then they get blown away,” Trump told reporters. Trump has repeatedly claimed the US “owns” the Strait of Hormuz, parts of which form the territorial seas of Iran and Oman. However, maritime law experts point out claiming a territory is not this simple. “Under US law, claiming territory by a Presidential declaration (or) decree is not enough. There are important constitutional requirements that must be cleared first,” Jason Chuah, Professor of Maritime Law at City, University of London and Distinguished Fellow, Maritime Institute of Malaysia, told CNN. While the occupation of a territory might give the occupying state control over the area, he said, “on its own, it does not convey legal title.” Simon Baughen, Professor of Shipping Law at Swansea University, said the path toward claiming Hormuz as a US territory was unlikely to come to fruition. A more likely outcome, Baughen suggested, could be that the US, Iran and Oman agree to open the Strait of Hormuz and charge tolls to vessels passing through the waterway. But, he said: “That is also illegal under customary international law and also the provisions of the 1982 UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) Treaty.” Neither Iran nor Oman has absolute rights over the Strait of Hormuz, Chuah pointed out. “Freedom of navigation prevails. That is the law,” he said. “A navy can control a waterway. It cannot, merely by controlling it, rewrite the law of title,” Chuah added. US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Oman if it interferes with his country’s efforts in the Strait of Hormuz, as the conflict with Iran continues and a two-month window for peace talks expires without

"If Oman stands in our way, we will bomb them until we destroy them." These were the drastic words spoken by the American president, Donald Trump, in a telephone call with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, threatening the country at the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this week. "I have no timetable, I have no deadline," he added. Iran should raise the white flag of surrender, Yingst quotes the U.S. president as saying. Trump was reacting to Oman’s diplomatic efforts to find a solution with Iran regarding shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. For long, Oman has acted as a mediator between Iran and the United States. In this role, Oman advocates a diplomatic solution that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international maritime traffic. Shortly before, Iranian officials had stated they were close to finalizing an agreement with Oman on maritime transport. This came after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran on June 17. The MoU stated that Iran would have 60 days to ensure safe and toll-free passage for commercial vessels. However, the MoU later failed. Consequently, Iran and Oman were to agree on future management and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz. This clause now forms the basis of the current negotiations. An agreement to save appearances According to an analysis by the Chatham House think tank, this is precisely the key point of controversy. Iran may have interpreted the wording of the “sovereign rights of coastal states” as an acceptance by Washington of Iran’s demands for greater control of the Strait. Chatham House considers this interpretation untenable under international law. According to the think tank, sovereign rights do not include restrictions on international transit or tolls. “There can be neither Iranian control of transit nor Iranian tolls,” say Chatham House. “However, an arrangement to save appearances with limited tariffs, based on the real costs of ensuring navigation safety, protecting against environmental damage, and other reasonable expenses, could be possible.” The form such an agreement might take could be controversial. Chatham House describes joint Iranian-Omani management of certain maritime services as a possible solution through mutual concessions. The Institute for the Study of War, however, warns that Iran could attempt to permanently solidify the influence it gains by obstructing maritime traffic in the management of the maritime route. For Trump, who rejects an extension of the MoU, control of maritime traffic is also an important means of pressuring Iran. Oman, the traditional mediator “Oman has always traditionally played the role of mediator between the Gulf Arab states and Iran,” Marcus Schneider, head of the regional project of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation for Peace and Security in the Middle East in Beirut, told DW in May. Among the Gulf states, the sultanate has always maintained the closest relations with Tehran. Stefan Lukas, founder of the Middle East Minds analytics firm, considers that “Oman is one of the few states left in the region that still maintains a relatively stable relationship with almost all parties in conflict,” he told DW in May as well. Strategic geographic position Oman occupies a strategic location while maintaining good relations with Washington and Tehran. The situation is delicate for Oman. “Since the beginning of the war, Oman has been among the Gulf countries that have pressed hardest for de-escalation,” Schneider said. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have long viewed Oman’s special status with mixed feelings. At the same time, a growing idea in the Gulf states is becoming entrenched that lasting stability can only be achieved with, and not against, Iran. “Iran is here to stay,” quotes the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a phrase commonly used by regional politicians. Economic ties could prove the most effective long-term deterrence. “Above all, Oman is considered particularly vulnerable due to its geographic location in the Strait of Hormuz,” Schneider emphasized. Consequently, Muscat has a strong interest in avoiding any further escalation. (rmr/cp)

- Geopolitics: The war in the Middle East forces Australia to rethink its energy dependence This Monday the 60-day window to negotiate the main sticking points of the war that broke out in late February between the United States and Iran expired, although the two parties have agreed to extend it for another 60 days to keep negotiations open and avoid a new military escalation, according to Al Arabiya. The Iranian regime is focused on the imminent agreement it seeks to sign with Oman for joint management of the Strait of Hormuz, claiming sovereignty over the maritime route that did not exist before the war. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baqaei, said this Monday that talks with Muscat to establish a safe maritime transit route through the Strait of Hormuz “are continuing to advance” and that they are “finalizing the details of a joint statement.” Baqaei attributed the delay to the “presence of multiple actors that interfere” in the pact, pointing to the United States and Israel. With the agreement about to be finalized, U.S. President Donald Trump launched a barrage of threats against Oman, warning that he is willing to intervene militarily against the country if it hinders Washington’s efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “If Oman gets in the way, we will bomb them without mercy,” Trump told Fox. The U.S. president warned that Iran should “raise the white flag of surrender” and he said that the “primary objective” of his administration “will always be that Iran cannot have, in any way, a nuclear weapon.” In response, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran “will not tolerate the U.S. naval blockade of Hormuz indefinitely,” so it will communicate its “deadline” to Washington and regional countries through mediators. In recent days, voices among hardline elements of the Iranian regime advocating moving past stalled tensions and adopting a more offensive stance toward the United States and Israel have grown. Analysts like Vali Nasr of Johns Hopkins University say this escalation is beginning to become evident in Teheran’s attacks on Jordan, broadening its wave of retaliation beyond Gulf countries. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the Iranian regime is preparing for a large-scale war and has intensified domestic missile and drone production, believing Washington and Tel Aviv are using the truce to resume fighting. The report asserts that, while government officials spoke of the Memorandum of Understanding, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei granted more powers to the Revolutionary Guards to bolster its war strategy. The expiration of the Memorandum of Understanding, known as the Islamabad Agreement, comes after a series of military clashes between Washington and Iran. Over 60 days, both countries oscillated between willingness to resume negotiations and warnings of new military interventions. The 14-point pact, signed by Iranian President, reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, and his American counterpart, established a window to negotiate a broader agreement that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz and an end to hostilities on all fronts. Under the pact, the United States pledged to lift the naval blockade, remove its forces from near Iran, initiate a reconstruction plan of $300 billion, lift sanctions, and authorize Iranian oil exports. Iran, for its part, pledged to remove mines from the Strait and allow vessels to pass at no cost for 60 days. The ambiguous drafting of some clauses of the Memorandum, particularly those relating to traffic control in the Strait of Hormuz, led to disagreements since the pact was signed in June. Iran rejected from the outset the UN-established maritime route that passed through Oman for evacuating vessels stranded in Hormuz and attacked several ships crossing those waters. The United States responded with continued attacks on Iran, striking energy but also civilian infrastructures. Baqaei called the 60-day deadline “totally irrelevant” on Monday and attributed it to the “flagrant and generalized violation” of the pact by the United States. “The Islamic Republic of Iran never crafts its policies under pressure, ultimatums, or time limits,” he noted. In this context, the Arab media outlet Al Arabiya reported that Tehran and Washington have opened a second 60-day window to continue negotiations, although an Iranian source told Reuters that there has been no extension of the agreement. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has also flatly denied Trump’s claim about a supposed secret communication channel between U.S. officials and the Iranian military body, calling these statements “lies and fantasies” born of the president’s “deliriums and nightmares” after his military defeat.

Washington threatens to bomb its former ally Oman, which is engaging in talks with Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the main stumbling block in the negotiations. The memorandum of understanding signed between the United States and Iran on June 17 to try to end the war expired this Monday after two months, amid renewed mutual recriminations between the two enemies and a great deal of uncertainty about when and how a conflict that began on February 28 could continue; it has reached a stalemate and shows no sign of ending. Neither side seems to lament the death of an agreement that never really came to life. In a series of comments from the Oval Office, U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled out renewing the memorandum of understanding that he had announced with great enthusiasm 60 days earlier. He has also reiterated that Iran, according to him, is willing to reach some kind of pact, but will not offer the terms he demands. “They want to reach an agreement, but they are not going to close the kind of agreement that I deem necessary,” he has said. With the conflict entrenched and no signs of a solution, energy prices higher than six months ago and increasingly dismal approval ratings—an Reuters poll this Monday gives him 33% approval, the lowest in the second term of the Republican president—the U.S. president chooses to dig in his heels. Not only does he claim he will not concede: now he expands his threats and also extends them to Oman, a United States ally, warning that he will bomb it “hard” if it continues its contacts with Iran to agree on some kind of joint toll mechanism in the Strait of Hormuz. “If [Oman] stands in our way, we will bomb them without mercy,” Trump had said in an early Monday interview with his favorite television network, Fox News, according to the journalist Trey Yingst, Tel Aviv correspondent. In his Oval Office remarks he did not back down. “They are not behaving very well,” he noted. The U.S. president’s threats come just ten days after Iranian and Omani authorities announced they were very close to sealing a pact to manage maritime traffic in Hormuz, which is subject to the dual blockade of Iran and the United States. This is not the first time Trump has threatened Oman, a country that participated in peace negotiations before the war and had been considered as a venue for the talks that had been planned in the memorandum of understanding that expired this Monday. The Republican had already attacked his Arab ally in May, when Iran threatened to impose permanent tolls in the strait and was contacting its neighbor across to create a joint mechanism. But it is the first time the U.S. president has referred to Oman in this way since he and his Iranian counterpart, Masud Pzehsikian, signed the memorandum establishing a 60-day truce, a period in which talks were to take place toward a permanent peace and, above all, to decide the future of the Strait of Hormuz, fundamental for the global energy sector and the functioning of the world economy. It is also the first time he does so as contacts between Oman and Iran around Hormuz appear to be entering the final stretch. Iranian authorities have insisted this Monday that the agreement to manage shipping transit through the strait is imminent, and have pointed to an understanding with their neighbor regarding routes. But they also say they are working to finalize a more detailed pact with measures and a joint declaration. “There is an understanding about the traffic routes map, but we are going to finalize the understanding in the form of a ‘package’. That is, the map plus a joint declaration,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei at a press conference. The expiration of the memorandum does not change the on-the-ground situation. The provisions of the agreement also stipulated that both sides could extend the deadline if they wished. For weeks, Washington and Tehran have stated that the 14-point document that had generated so much anticipation at the time was nothing more than toilet paper, and they blamed each other for the failure. A failure that was evident almost from the first moment. The rush to reach some kind of pact, Trump’s impatience to announce a solution to a war that bores him and weighs on his polls, the enormous differences in the positions of the hostile governments, and the hope that everything could be solved in the detailed talks produced a very short and very ambiguous document. This vagueness led to disagreements multiplying: over what should be applied and, above all, how it should be implemented. From lifting sanctions and paying a reconstruction fund to Iran of at least $300 billion (about €260 billion), to the end of hostilities in southern Lebanon occupied by Israel. Along with Iran’s commitment not to manufacture nuclear weapons. To no one’s surprise, the final hurdle remains the Strait of Hormuz: the U.S. president declared it open unconditionally; Iran argued that final control of that bottleneck was its own matter and that point 5 of the memorandum recognized it. Therefore, it contends that ships passing through must yield to the routes the Islamic Republic deems appropriate. Iranian forces have attacked merchant ships that did not comply. In turn, U.S. troops have responded with bombings on Iranian targets, which Tehran retaliated against U.S. bases in neighboring Arab countries. Last week, U.S. forces opened fire on a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship that was attempting to break through the blockade imposed by Washington. It was a new step in a cycle of attacks and reprisals that has repeated almost weekly, usually starting with a hostile act by one of the two armies and ending with a Trump post on social media—followed by a statement from an Iranian spokesperson in Tehran—in which the threats of bombardments and the use of force alternate with the message that diplomatic contacts are advancing and an agreement is within reach. On Friday, Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury secretary, said he would impose new measures to economically punish Iran, though it is unclear whether he can significantly intensify that pressure: the regime is already laden with economic sanctions, trade relations are non-existent, and Tehran has shown over six months of war that it is more than willing to absorb economic penalties and not bend to its enemy. For his part, the Republican warned he would declare the Strait of Hormuz as American territory. Almost concurrently, Iran’s top military commander, General Amir Hatami, announced a reward of $30,000 for the death or capture of American soldiers. The U.S. president insists he is in no hurry and insists on declaring the rival country defeated. And his aim is to ensure that Iran can never develop a nuclear weapon. “The number one goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon in any way, shape, or form,” he wrote this Monday in a post on Truth, his social network. In his remarks to Fox News, the president stated that, in his view, Iran “must wave the white flag of surrender.”

MADRID, Aug 18. (EUROPA PRESS) - Qatari authorities have stated this Tuesday that the mediators between the United States and Iran are waiting for a deal between Iran and Oman regarding the management of passage through the Strait of Hormuz in order to resume contacts between Washington and Tehran. Speaking at a press conference, Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mayed al-Ansari indicated that mediators, including Pakistan, Turkey, Oman, and Qatar, are awaiting a pact on transit through the Hormuz passage that could facilitate new contacts between the United States and Iran. He noted that he would try to ensure that the two sides resume negotiations when Iran and Oman announce their bilateral agreement on the management of the strategic strait, which is now at the center of the dispute between Washington and Tehran, according to Al Jazeera. Earlier on the same Tuesday, the clash over the commercial passage resurfaced after U.S. President Donald Trump posted an image in which he declares the Strait of Hormuz as a “new American territory.” A few minutes later, Iranian authorities responded to the post via Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Qarabibadi, who on social media called Trump’s aspirations regarding the strategic passage “illusions.” This cross-taunting rhetoric between Washington and Tehran comes as the deadline they set to reach a final peace agreement and address Iran’s nuclear issue has expired. The Speaker of the Parliament and Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, stressed that Hormuz will not open until the United States fulfills its commitments under the memorandum of understanding signed in mid-June.

It is already known that the U.S. president, Donald Trump, is angry with Iran. But he is not happy either with the small country located on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz: Oman. Oman has played a relatively low-key role since the war with Iran began, even as a mediator. But its geography has placed it in the uncomfortable position of negotiating with Tehran over the management of the strait while facing Trump’s threats. Trump told Fox News reporter Trey Yingst this week that the United States would bomb Oman if it “gets in the way,” using a vulgar expression. It is not the first time he has issued such a threat. Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not responded to emailed questions about Trump’s threat or about when Oman and Iran might issue a joint statement on their agreement. Here is a look at Oman’s situation in the midst of the war: Trump is not happy with the emerging agreement between Oman and Iran. Trump threatened Oman because he is not satisfied with the deal it is about to reach with Iran regarding the strait, two regional officials said on Tuesday. Trump is under pressure. He promised a quick war and a weakened Iran, along with a better deal on Tehran’s nuclear program. Instead, Iran has discovered it has enormous power to close the strait, which before the war was an international maritime route with free passage. Negotiations between the United States and Iran have collapsed. This week ended the 60-day period that began when the two countries signed a provisional agreement that was meant to pave the way for more detailed talks. There are no signs that it will be extended. Trump now says there are no talks planned with Iran. So the only confirmed discussions taking place now are between Iran and Oman on navigation in the strait. These have been developing for weeks. Oman has not said much publicly about it. Tehran maintains that they are finalizing a joint statement. All signs indicate Iran is in no hurry. Trump has launched many threats against Iran. Now he is also venting his frustration with Oman. Oman had been trying to make peace. Oman, with a population of just over 5 million, is one of the Gulf’s most discreet players. The sultanate has allowed the U.S. military to use its facilities, though Washington has described defense ties as smaller in scale compared with other neighbors, such as the United Arab Emirates. Compared with other countries in the region, Oman has not been attacked as much by Iran. The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, based in Washington, notes that while Omani ports have been attacked by drones, Iran has not claimed responsibility and Oman has not blamed Iran, and no missile has hit Omani territory. Omani leaders generally prefer communication with Iran. The sultanate has participated in mediation efforts, but that work is now being driven by Qatar and Pakistan. The world’s attention has shifted more toward Oman since the provisional agreement was signed. Not long after the signing, the relative calm was shattered when Iran began firing at ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz off Oman’s coast along a route backed by the United States. Now Oman participates in discussions that appear to be driven by Iran, which has described the talks as aimed at “developing mechanisms to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz while respecting the sovereign rights and sovereignty of both coastal states, as well as Iran’s security and national interests.” The mechanisms could include tolls. Regional officials have said that under the emerging agreement ships would enter the Persian Gulf via a route controlled by Iran and exit via a route controlled by Oman. But any agreement seems to depend on the United States lifting its blockade of Iranian ports. Oman described the conversations earlier this month as “moving forward in a positive and constructive atmosphere,” while in the same statement condemning the repeated attacks on ships in the strait. After a meeting on Tuesday between Oman’s foreign minister and his Egyptian counterpart, Egypt noted that the Iranian-Omani agreement could pave the way for the United States and Tehran to return to negotiations for a “comprehensive and permanent agreement that addresses all concerns and reinforces regional security and stability.” It is not clear what effect Trump’s threat could have. Oman is caught between two heavily armed and obstinate powers. Meanwhile, global supplies of oil, natural gas, and derivatives can only pass through the strait at a reduced level, with ships still at risk of attack. Since Trump’s latest threat, Oman’s news agency has been publishing on other topics such as the Muscat Stock Exchange, sports, and imports of coffee and tea. Foreign Ministry statements have focused on meetings and diplomatic gestures. It is not clear whether Trump’s threat will make any difference in Oman’s talks with Iran, even to push the countries to finalize and announce an agreement. But it is clear that the U.S. president is channeling the mounting pressure his administration feels as midterm elections approach, and as the world economy watches events in the strait for any sign of relief. The Cairo-based correspondent Samy Magdy contributed. This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative AI tool.

Once the memorandum of understanding signed last June 17 with Tehran expired definitively, the American president, Donald Trump, has again raised the tone with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The president asserted that there are no conversations “in progress or scheduled” and referred to the Strait of Hormuz as a “new American territory.” On Truth Social, Trump posted a map of the area that separates the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman, encircling the strait and labeling it “NEW US territory,” accompanied by a stripe in the colors of his country’s flag. This is not the first time he has floated this idea: as early as last Friday he had proposed incorporating Hormuz as a “US territory” after “defeating Iran.” Days earlier he had been even more explicit, writing on his social network that his country has total control of the strait and that “they’ll keep it.” “There is nothing Iran can do about it,” he concluded. The other threat that dominates the day targets Oman. According to CNN yesterday, Trump again warned of bombing Oman if the sultanate interferes with the U.S. plan in the strait, a warning he had already issued on Monday in strong terms. In the words of the occupant of the White House, if Muscat “gets in the way,” he will “bomb them into oblivion.” That threat is directed at a country that so far has acted as a discreet mediator between Washington and Tehran, and has not publicly responded to Trump’s repeated warnings. The prelude to resuming negotiations The background to this verbal escalation is the parallel negotiation between Iran and Oman to guarantee safe maritime routes through Hormuz—historically the strategic passage accounted for 25% of international natural gas and oil traffic before the war—without U.S. participation, something in Washington is interpreted as a maneuver that could leave Iran with effective control of the passage. “The naval blockade remains fully in effect. The Strait of Hormuz is open and operational. All sea mines have been removed or detonated,” Trump said this Tuesday. Moreover, the authorities of Qatar have asserted that the actors mediating between the U.S. and Iran—Pakistan, Turkey, Oman, and the emirate itself—expect an agreement between Tehran and Muscat on the management of Hormuz as a preliminary step to resume contacts between Washington and the regime of the mullahs. Tehran, for its part, has not toned down. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, replied on X that “the Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian,” and warned that it will only be opened and closed under Iranian command while Washington does not accept “the reality of defeat.” Foreign Minister Javad Zarif himself repeated that the U.S. is “begging for a negotiation.” The open fronts Meanwhile, the verbal jousting occurs in a real-on-the-ground context of tension: a vessel was struck on Monday by a “unknown projectile” while transiting the strait, with material damage and one fatality among the crew, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defense reported that its air defense systems detected a missile threat. In Yemen, which, along with Lebanon, is the other open front of the US-Israel confrontation against Iran and its network of proxy actors, forces allied with the internationally recognized Yemeni government downed a suspected drone launched by the Houthi rebels in the Yemeni Hadramaut region, according to local authorities, in a report advanced by Al Jazeera. Despite the bellicose tone, Trump also left room for diplomatic avenues. The American president reiterated this Tuesday that he is not in a hurry and asserted that his administration has established a direct channel of communication with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, something the IRGC denies. Still, the president himself acknowledged the underlying stagnation: Trump is convinced that Iran will not accept the kind of agreement he deems necessary to end the war, leaving the Hormuz crisis at a point of maximum uncertainty. “The Omani mediation on Hormuz, far from aiding Iran, seeks to contain the regional repercussions of the crisis. Faced with military erosion, the oil plunge, economic deterioration, and loss of political cohesion, Tehran has made the strait one of its last deterrent tools,” explains LA RAZÓN political analyst Ehsan Rahimi. “Washington will probably strike again if the negotiations do not guarantee the full reopening of the strait. Muscat is trying to steer that coercive lever toward negotiation. At the same time, the defense pact among Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan shows that regional powers are preparing for an order after Iran’s weakening, where its influence will be diminished,” concludes the researcher on international relations affiliated with the University of Alicante.

Trump threatens to “destroy” his ally Oman if it seals a deal with Iran on the Strait of Hormuz U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Monday that he would bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a Washington-Tehran agreement on the management of the Strait of Hormuz, and urged Tehran to surrender in the Middle East war. First amendment: Last amendment: Iran and Oman have been negotiating for months a deal on navigation through this sea lane, through which a large portion of the crude pumped by Gulf countries is sent. Control of Hormuz has become the focal point of the conflict, after months of obstruction due to Iran— which attacked numerous ships in the area — and the United States, which imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports. The concrete fear in Washington and many other countries is that those talks between Oman and Iran will translate into some sort of toll charging to merchant ships, something that did not happen before the United States and Israel launched their military campaign against the Islamic Republic on February 28. In that context, Trump pressed again, this time against Oman, a Washington ally that has abstained from publicly commenting on the rants of the octogenarian Republican leader. “If Oman stands in the way, we will bomb them and destroy them,” Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst. Trump also indicated that Iran should “raise the white flag and surrender,” according to a message Yingst posted on X about his interview with the president. “Serious” conversations On Monday, Iran confirmed that talks continue with neighbor Oman on future navigation agreements in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil and gas consumption used to pass before the war. “Conversations between Iran and Oman continue seriously,” said a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry. “The points of view on the joint declaration text are being exchanged,” he added. The talks between the two neighbors continue after the collapse of an interim agreement between the United States and Iran, mediated by Pakistan, which sought to keep Hormuz as an international, open, toll-free maritime route. Trump has insisted that the strait is under U.S. control, even though traffic in the area is very limited. Last Friday he even claimed he would declare the Strait of Hormuz as part of U.S. territory, to which Tehran replied vigorously that Hormuz “will remain Iranian.” Trump insists that he is not in a hurry to reach an agreement, despite the unpopularity of the war among Americans ahead of the November legislative elections, with Democratic opponents lurking to regain control of Congress. The president told Yingst that there is a direct secret channel between his administration and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. “They’re good poker players, but they’re dying,” he said.

Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it gets in way of Iran deal US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a deal with Iran on the strait of Hormuz and called for Iran to surrender. Referring to ongoing talks between Oman and Iran on control of the strait, while Washington is also pursuing its own talks, Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst: If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them. He added that Iran should “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst’s post on X on his interview with the president. US president Donald Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a deal with Iran on the strait of Hormuz and called for Iran to surrender. Referring to ongoing talks between Oman and Iran on control of the strait, while Washington is also pursuing its own talks, Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them.” Two Iranian drones targeted the Iraqi Kurdistan prime minister’s office and the home of the autonomous region’s intelligence chief overnight, authorities said on Monday. Masrour Barzani said that an investigation by the region’s counter-terrorism unit found that his “personal office and the home of the head of the Security and Intelligence Agency were targeted by Iranian drone attacks earlier today”. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that a 60-day deadline for negotiations included in June’s memorandum of understanding was “irrelevant” because the US had violated the deal early on. “We did not begin any negotiations because, a few weeks after the signing, widespread violations of the agreement began, thereby rendering the 60-day provision irrelevant,” he said. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US envoy Jared Kushner discussed putting an American general in charge of verifying Hamas’s disarmament on Monday, an Israeli official said, as the premier insisted there would be no pullout from Gaza until then. Kushner, president Donald Trump’s son-in-law, flew to the region after Netanyahu, facing a tough re-election fight, publicly rejected the latest part of a US plan aimed at ending the devastating Gaza war. Israeli flags planted on a main coastal highway in southern Lebanon are a violation of a UN security council resolution, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said on Monday, urging all sides to avoid “provocative actions“. Israel’s military invaded a swathe of southern Lebanon during a war with Hezbollah earlier this year, establishing a self-declared security zone it says aims to shield northern Israel from attacks by the Iran-backed group. Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Monday they had targeted a Saudi military vessel and four accompanying boats in the Red Sea as part of their maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. Yahya Saree, military spokesperson for the Iran-backed group, said it had “succeeded in targeting a military landing ship belonging to the Saudi enemy, accompanied by four military patrol boats, in the Red Sea off the coast of Mokha, using several ballistic missiles”. Israeli soldiers have stood guard as bulldozers demolished a Palestinian building in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Authorities cited the apparent lack of a building permit to justify the destruction in Qalandia, south of Ramallah. The UN rights chief voiced alarm Monday at the rising civilian toll of escalating hostilities in Yemen, urging restraint and an immediate de-escalation to avoid plunging the country back into a full-scale war. “I urge all parties to halt immediately any actions that risk returning Yemen to full-scale conflict,” Volker Türk said in a statement, as renewed fighting between the Houthi rebels and the government undermined a 2022 truce. Eight Muslim-majority countries have condemned Israel for rejecting Trump’s Gaza roadmap, saying it “fundamentally undermines the collective efforts undertaken to achieve a just and lasting peace.” The joint statement – signed by Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan – was issued during Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner’s visit to the Middle East. Two Iranian drones targeted the Iraqi Kurdistan prime minister’s office and the home of the autonomous region’s intelligence chief overnight, authorities said on Monday. Masrour Barzani said that an investigation by the region’s counter-terrorism unit found that his “personal office and the home of the head of the Security and Intelligence Agency were targeted by Iranian drone attacks earlier today”. “This is a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the security and stability of the Kurdistan region.” Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US envoy Jared Kushner discussed putting an American general in charge of verifying Hamas’s disarmament on Monday, an Israeli official said, as the premier insisted there would be no pullout from Gaza until then. Kushner, president Donald Trump’s son-in-law, flew to the region after Netanyahu, facing a tough re-election fight, publicly rejected the latest part of a US plan aimed at ending the devastating Gaza war. Kushner, who has long family ties to Netanyahu, met with him in Jerusalem a day after holding rare direct talks in Egypt with Hamas, which has publicly committed itself to the plan and to disarmament, winning praise from Trump but prompting deep scepticism in Israel. The two sides “agreed that no redeployment or reconstruction would take place in the Gaza Strip before Hamas is disarmed throughout Gaza”, a senior Israeli official told AFP. Israeli flags planted on a main coastal highway in southern Lebanon are a violation of a UN security council resolution, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said on Monday, urging all sides to avoid “provocative actions“. Israel’s military invaded a swathe of southern Lebanon during a war with Hezbollah earlier this year, establishing a self-declared security zone it says aims to shield northern Israel from attacks by the Iran-backed group. A video posted on Sunday by Israel’s Channel 12 news journalist Amit Segal showed Israeli flags flying along the Naqoura-Tyre coastal road, a primary artery for southern Lebanon and a route used by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The footage appeared to have been taken from a military vehicle. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that a 60-day deadline for negotiations included in June’s memorandum of understanding was “irrelevant” because the US had violated the deal early on. “We did not begin any negotiations because, a few weeks after the signing, widespread violations of the agreement began, thereby rendering the 60-day provision irrelevant,” he said. Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Monday they had targeted a Saudi military vessel and four accompanying boats in the Red Sea as part of their maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. Yahya Saree, military spokesperson for the Iran-backed group, said it had “succeeded in targeting a military landing ship belonging to the Saudi enemy, accompanied by four military patrol boats, in the Red Sea off the coast of Mokha, using several ballistic missiles”. He went on to claim that the ship and number of other boats were sunk or burned, though the claim could not be independently verified. Riyadh did not immediately respond to the announcement. US forces currently stationed in the Kurdish region of Iraq have begun withdrawing ahead of a 30 September deadline agreed upon between Washington and Baghdad to end the US military presence in Iraq. Trump’s threat to bomb Oman is not the first. In May, he told reporters during a Cabinet meeting that “Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up.” Iran said it has reached an agreement with Oman over a plan for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between the countries, and the sides are now working to finalise details for 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 close to Iran and exiting through a route close to Oman. Ships would transit without paying fees or tolls during an interim period. The US has sought an acceptable deal on opening the strait before ending its blockade of Iranian ports. Iran effectively closed the strait – through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies passed before the war – after Israel and the U.S. attacked the country on 28 February. 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. Iran says it is working to finalise a joint statement with Oman on a plan to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Fully reopening the waterway has been a key US demand, and President Donald Trump has again threatened Oman. The 60-day negotiating period to find a peace deal between the US and Iran is soon expiring , with no word of an extension and both sides seemingly as far apart as they were at the start, AP report. Meanwhile, Trump said the 60-day deadline on talks to end the war was irrelevant and said there was no timeline, Fox News reporter Trey Yingst said. Trump said the US has a back channel for talks with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Yingst added. Iran will escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region if diplomacy with the US fails, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, pointing to an Iranian policy shift relying on offence rather than defence. Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it gets in way of Iran deal US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a deal with Iran on the strait of Hormuz and called for Iran to surrender. Referring to ongoing talks between Oman and Iran on control of the strait, while Washington is also pursuing its own talks, Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst: If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them. He added that Iran should “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst’s post on X on his interview with the president. Israeli soldiers have stood guard as bulldozers demolished a Palestinian building in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Authorities cited the apparent lack of a building permit to justify the destruction in Qalandia, south of Ramallah.

by The Hill staff08/17/26 02:52 PM ET President Trump declared the U.S. has “total control over the Strait” of Hormuz on Monday, adding that Iran isn’t likely to “make the kind of deal that I feel is necessary” to end the conflict. Monday is the end of a 60-day memorandum of understanding signed between the countries in June. The president held to his goal of preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon. Earlier Monday, Trump said he would bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a conflict between the U.S. and Iran. Trump’s envoy, Jared Kushner, met Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to try tomove forward with developmentplans for the Gaza Strip. Trump on Sunday abruptlyordered the Pentagonto “substantially reduce” a joint military exercise with South Korea, arguing it shows hostility toward North Korea. Thedecision brought criticismfrom Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who called it “shortsighted and a mistake.” Both chambers of Congress are out but held pro forma sessions Monday. Follow live here. President Trump’sdecision to reducejoint military exercises with South Korea is being met with derision from Democrats and fears from other allies who are already worried over the president’s past willingness to toss aside longtime defense commitments. Trump said it was too late to fully cancel what he called expensive and provocative joint exercises known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, but directed the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the drills on Sunday, just a day before they were set to start. President Trump islashing outat rivals and allies alike amid an escalating game of economic chicken between the U.S. and Iran. On Monday, he threatened to “bomb the s‑‑‑ out of” Oman, a day after he told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea. Fewer American adults aregamblingthan a decade ago, according to a new poll. In theGallup poll, 45 percent of respondents said they had taken part in one or more forms of gambling over the past year, down from 64 percent a decade ago and 63 percent in 2007. One-third of Americans approve ofPresident Trump’sjob performance, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey. Thepoll, conducted from Friday through Monday, found that 33 percent of 1,166 respondents approved of the job Trump is doing, while 64 percent disapproved. The poll had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. Read more here. Vaccination coverage for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) among kindergarteners in the U.S. remains below the ideal rate needed to best prevent widespread outbreaks, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with the number of exemptions going up. The CDC on Monday released the latest figures on vaccine coverage among kindergarteners during the 2025-2026 school year, finding that 92.4 percent of students had received the MMR vaccine. Read more here. An Iraqi plan to develop a pipeline that would export oil through Syria and avoid future disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz is expected to take four years to reconstruct, likely costing at least $15 billion, Reuters reported on Monday, citing two sources with knowledge of the project. Those sourcestold Reutersthat the plan would take twice as long as previously anticipated by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, citing the need for new infrastructure and possible hurdles. Bessent told the outlet last week that “more than 50 percent or 70 percent” of oil exports typically passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be exported through underground pipelines. “Over the next two years, the strait is going to become irrelevant. It is going to become just another body of water,” Bessent told Reuters. Progressive House lawmakers and far-left Democratic candidates are traveling to Uruguay this weekto challengePresident Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ in Latin America. The lawmakers are participating in the PanAmerican Congress in Montevideo, Uruguay, The Hill has learned, set to take place Aug 21-23. A federal appeals court panel on Monday upheld an order thatdisqualifiedSigal Chattah from the top federal prosecutorial job in Nevada, ruling that the Justice Department’s effort to sidestep Senate confirmation is unlawful. A three-judge panel for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in a36-page opinionthat Chattah cannot continue to oversee criminal prosecutions for a group of defendants who challenged her appointment. Read more here. The House Ethics Committee said Monday thatit is investigatingallegations of sexual misconduct against Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.). The panel said in a statement that it is “reviewing allegations” that Gomez “may have engaged in sexual misconduct in violation of the Code of Official Conduct or any other applicable standard of conduct, including engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer.” The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)asked theSupreme Court on Monday to hear theirchallenge to Texas’s lawrequiring public school classrooms to post the Ten Commandments. Representing a group of parents from various faiths, the civil liberties organization says the law violates the First Amendment’s religious protections. Read more here. Sen.Tammy Baldwin(D-Wis.) on Sunday called for no federal immigration enforcement officers to be at polling places ahead of the November elections. “No ICE at our polling places,” she wrote on a post on thesocial platform X, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Read more here. President Trump said Monday that he was turned off by South Korea not agreeing to help the U.S. denuclearize Iran even though the U.S. has troops in South Korea to deter aggression from North Korea, spurring him to reduce the joint military exercises. Trump said he recently spoke on the phone with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and asked if he would give the U.S. “a little hand” with Iran. “I called him. I said, ‘Would you like to give us a little hand? We don’t need help with Iran, but if you’d like, give us a hand with Iran.’ He said, ‘No thanks,’ and I said, ‘Wait a minute. We have 39,000 soldiers over there, guarding you from Kim Jong-un, your next-door neighbor, and you’re not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran. That’s strange,’” Trump said in the Oval Office. Trump said the South Korean leader said his country would rather not get involved in the Iran war. “I want to help them, but you know, when you ask somebody, ‘Would you like to give us a hand,’ and they say, ‘No thanks,’ and then we’re guarding them from a country and paying, ourselves, billions of dollars…to protect not only them, but other countries,” he said. More than 215,000 Canadians have signed anonline petitioncalling for the country’s government to seek the removal of Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to Canada. Thepetitioncalls for the Canadian government to declare Hoekstra as “persona non grata” and “request his removal” from the post, citing the ambassador “making repeated interventions in Canadian political discourse inconsistent with diplomatic protocol.” Residents of all 13 Canadian provinces and territories have signed the petition, which has surpassed the threshold of 500 signatures needed for a lawmaker to present it to the House of Commons. Elizabeth May, the leader of Canada’s Green Party, has sponsored the petition. Hoekstra, a former Republican congressman from Michigan, has backed President Trump’s view that the U.S. should annex Canada as the 51st state. The petition’s mounting signature total also comes as Trump’s50 percent tariffson $20 billion worth of Canadian imports are set to go into effect on Wednesday. Sen.Jack Reed(D-R.I.) went afterPresident Trumpon Monday for his praise of North Korea. “The president, in that — this sense, is delusional. He has this egomania that says every powerful figure in the world is —must bow down to me. They do that. That’s exactly the approach he took to [Russian President Vladimir]Putin,when he took over. The Ukrainians, he dismissed, he said, ‘You don’t have the cards,’ etcetera,” Reed told MS NOW’sPeter Alexanderon “State of Play,” responding to Trump’s positive comments on social media about North Korea. Read more here. A recent poll shows that Californiansare spliton the one-time billionaire tax that would charge the state’s 200 billionaires with a 5 percent tax on their net worth, a measure set to appear on the ballot in November. The University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies foundin its surveyreleased Friday that 48 percent of California voters support Proposition 40, known as the Billionaire Tax Act, while 41 percent oppose it. Eleven percent say they are undecided. Former White House COVID-19 czar Dr. Anthony Fauci told Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) he will not appear for a transcribed interview with the senator’s Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations about his role in the government’s pandemic response. In a letter sent to Johnson Friday, Fauci’s attorneys said he intends to continue asserting his Fifth Amendment right to decline answering questions that are part of the ongoing GOP-led investigation. Read more here. President Trumptold reporterson Monday that critics who are opposed to his proposed White House ballroom are disloyal to the country. “The people that are opposing the ballroom are people that in my opinion are very disloyal to our country,” Trump said in the Oval Office. President Trump on Monday doubled down oncomments he made last weekabout the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil-shipping corridor, becoming U.S. territory. “I just think it’s a great idea,” he said from the Oval Office. “I mean we control it.” “We control it with the blockade, and I like the idea of declaring it a territory,” Trump added. “We have total control over the strait.” Trump said he believes Iran is not going to “make the kind of deal that I feel is necessary,” responding to questions about the deadline of the 60-day negotiation period put in place by a June ceasefire. The president said the goal of the war is to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. “We’re in there for one reason: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. The U.S. and Iran have largely thrown out the Memorandum of Understanding agreed to in June that was meant to open the Strait of Hormuz and allow for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. But Iran has asserted control over the Strait of Hormuz, traded fire with the U.S., and both the U.S. and Iran have walked away from talks. When asked why North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hasn’t answered his request, President Trump shot back, “How do you know he hasn’t responded?” He said Kim has replied but did not provide any insight into the response. Multiple White House officials on Monday took Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) to task for his harsh criticism of President Trump at a campaign rally over the weekend. White House communications director Steven Cheung said Ossoff “has to be the biggest … loser in politics,” and referred to the lawmaker using a crude play on his last name. “Instead of denigrating hard-working people serving their country, Jon should look deep into his soul and ask himself why he’s a miserable person who hates this country,” Cheung wrote on social platform X “It’s because he’s a radical, extremist Dumocrat,” he continued, using Trump’s nickname for Democrats. Keep reading here. President Trump hit back at Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff after he said Trump would rather travel with close personal aide Natalie Harp. “You mean Pee Wee Herman?” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. On Sunday, Ossoff referenced Harp being one of the aides who secretly traveled with Trump on a plane departing Ankara, Turkey last month amid a security threat from Iran. “He doesn’t want to do the job,” Ossoff said during a campaign event. “He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar.” White House spokesman Davis Ingle hit back at Ossoff on Monday, calling him a “a theater kid.” “Jon Ossoff is a cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid cosplaying as Barack Obama. Nobody gives a shit what this lightweight loser says,” Ingle said. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott said he wouldhalt construction activityin Big Bend National Park as efforts to erect a border barrier have met bipartisan pushback. In avideoposted to social media on Monday, Scott said, “Last night I put a pause on all activity in that park as far as construction goes until I can get down there and do a personal evaluation.” Democrats have amore favorable viewof socialism than capitalism, according to a new poll. In the CBS News/YouGov poll,socialism was seen in a “very positive” or “somewhat positive” light by 58 percent of Democratic respondents, with 18 percent of the same group seeing the ideology in a “somewhat negative” or “very negative” light. Twenty-four percent of Democrats had “no opinion” on the ideology. GOP Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.) said Sunday he was “concerned” about President Trump saying he is not aware of the Pentagon’s missile shortage. “I do have concerns that the president said he was not aware that we had a shortage of weapons like cruise missiles and Patriots. That’s not a good … thing,” Bacon told host Ed O’Keefe on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.” Trump has publicly denied that the U.S. military is low on munitions amid the Iran war, which is approaching the six-month mark. Read more here. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Saturday said she has no regrets about publicizing her decision to freeze her eggs. “One question that I received earlier is: Do I regret coming out publicly about this due to all of the political negativity and the larger political context, and especially this idea that for me, I’m quite young in my career, especially when it comes to politics, and so, would the backlash around this have any future impact on my career, and do I regret it for those reasons?” Ocasio-Cortez said Saturday on Instagram, in clips captured by Mediaite. “And the answer to that simply is, no.” Read more here. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday said the Department of Justice believes Congress has already granted President Trump the authority to construct the White House ballroom under existing presidential authority. “We don’t believe we have to go to Congress. We believe Congress has already given us the authority to do what we’re doing,” Blanche said during a Sunday appearance on Fox News’s “Fox News Sunday.” Read more here. A group of 15 senators say Defense Secretary Pete Hegsethowes Americans answersabout the ongoing deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group after reports of low morale and a mental health crisis among service members aboard. In an Aug. 15 letter to Hegseth, signed by all thirteen members of the Senate Armed Services Committee minority as well as the Democratic leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee and defense subcommittee, lawmakers demand information about “mounting evidence that conditions aboard the carrier have deteriorated to the point that the safety and wellbeing of its crew could be compromised.” The water level at Lake Powell on the Colorado River, the second-largest reservoir in the country, has dipped to arecord low. The lake’s elevation was 3,519.80 feet as of Sunday, according

President says he will strike ally if it ‘gets in the way’ of Hormuz negotiations Copy link twitter facebook whatsapp email Copy link twitter facebook whatsapp email Copy link twitter facebook whatsapp email Copy link twitter facebook whatsapp email Donald Trumpthreatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of US negotiations with Iran. The president said he would “bomb the s--- out of” the US ally after Iran said it was working to finalisean agreementwith the Gulf country to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s--- out of them,” Mr Trump told Fox News in a threat to a country that hosts US forces. As he spoke on Monday,the 60-day deadlinefor Washington and Tehran to negotiate a broader peace deal was due to expire, with no signs of a diplomatic breakthrough. There has been no word of an extension from either side, and their positions over the strait and the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme remain far apart. On Monday, Iran said it had agreed on a plan with Oman to managethe transit of shipsthrough the critical waterway that runs between the countries. Reopening the waterway has been a sticking point in peace talks to end the conflict in the Middle East, with strikes and blockades halting traffic and hampering global oil markets. Washington demands the strait be completely reopened, returning it to its pre-war status, but it is unclear whether the Oman deal will produce such a result. Iran effectively closed the strait – through which one-fifth of the world’s oil flows in peacetime – after the US and Israelattacked the countryat the end of February. Tehran made it clear it would not reopen the waterway until the US had lifted its blockade of Iranian ports, and that it intended to continue to wield some control over the strait. Without providing details, Esmail Baqaei, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, said that “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route”. Reports previously suggested the deal would reopenthe strait, with ships entering close to Iran and exiting close to Oman. They would transit without paying fees or tolls during the interim period. The US president, whose handling of the war has caused his domestic approval ratings to plunge, said on Monday he was in no hurry to bring the conflict to a close. “They’re good poker players, but they’re dying,” Mr Trump said of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), confirming he had established direct communication with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). “I have no time schedule. I’m not in a hurry.” The Trump administration used an unconventional back channel to contact the IRGC directly, Axios reported on Sunday. Washington established a direct line to Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan region in Iraq, amid fears the negotiators they were speaking to did not represent the IRGC. The president said that his “number one goal” inthe war with Iranwas to ensure the country never obtained a nuclear weapon. In a post on Truth Social on Monday, he wrote: Mr Trump has threatened to bomb Oman before during the US’s war with Iran. In May, he said the US would “blow up” the country if it failed to “behave”, again in relation to talks over the Strait of Hormuz. “Oman will behave just like everybody else,” he said. “Or else we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that. They’ll be fine.” Mr Trump has threatened other US allies, including when he discussedannexing Greenlandfrom Denmark and shared AI-generated maps showing Canadaunder US control. Meanwhile on Monday, Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s envoy and son-in-law, was in Israel in an effort to revive the president’s Gaza peace deal. With Sir Tony Blair, Mr Kushner will meet Benjamin Netanyahu after the Israeli prime minister rejected the 15-point plan publicly. The delegationmet Hamason Sunday to push them to fulfil their commitment to disarm. Copy link twitter facebook whatsapp email

US President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to bomb Oman and urged Iran to surrender, after Tehran announced that it had reached an agreement with Muscat on a plan for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between the two countries. In a wide-ranging phone interview with Fox News, Trump called on Iran to “put up the white flag of surrender,” and said he had “no time schedule” for the conflict. “I’m not in a hurry,” he said, “the [US] midterm [elections] have nothing to do with my thinking.” Turning to the ongoing push to reach a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said the Iranians are “good poker players, but they’re dying,” indicating that the continued US naval blockade has added pressure on the regime. Iran and the United States have been locked in a stalemate over control of the key waterway and Tehran’s nuclear program, with Tehran effectively putting a closure on the strait while the US has blockaded Iranian ports in a bid to pressure the Islamic Republic into an acceptable deal to open the strait. As for the parallel talks between Iran and Oman to reach a deal on managing the strait, Trump warned that “if Oman gets in the way” of Washington’s dealings with Iran, “we’ll bomb the shit out of them.” Trump issued the unprecedented threat against Oman after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route” with Muscat. He did not elaborate, but details that have previously emerged suggest the deal would reopen the strait, with ships entering through a route close to Iran and exiting through a route close to Oman. Ships would transit without paying fees or tolls during the interim period. Baghaei conceded the talks with Oman have gone slowly, “but we had planned, and still plan, to finalize the understanding in the form of a package: the map plus a joint statement.” Trump’s son-in-law and top aide Jared Kushner, who has led Washington’s talks with Iran, said Monday that conversations between the US and different areas of the Iranian government have probably been more robust than ever, even though the two sides have not yet reached an understanding. Kushner told Fox News that Trump is currently focused on maintaining economic pressure against Iran, through the US blockade of Iranian ports and other means. “If Iran is willing to finish the deal that they’ve been discussing with us to give up their ability to create a nuclear weapon, then [Trump] wants to make a deal that could be great for the Iranian people,” he explained. “But right now they’re not showing any interest in doing something that makes sense for us.” “President Trump is going to be very patient. He doesn’t want to rush you a deal. He’ll make the right deal when the right deal is ready. But we are having very positive and active conversations,” Kushner added. Later Monday, Trump told reporters that Iran “wants to make a deal, but they’re not going to make the kind of deal that I feel is necessary.” He added that the United States is not seeking an extension of the 60-day memorandum of understanding with Iran that was signed in June and expired on Monday. The MOU, to which Israel is not a party, largely broke down soon after it was announced, and Iran resumed attacks on ships it accused of trying to transit the strait without its permission, leading to US retaliatory strikes. With the deadline expiring, Trump confirmed to Fox News that Washington has established a secret backchannel with officials from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, following an Axios report on the matter. Iran appeared unmoved by Trump’s comments on Monday, with a senior official telling Reuters that Tehran will escalate tensions on the Strait of Hormuz and beyond if Washington fails to fully implement the terms of the MOU in the coming weeks. If the US does not meet that deadline and diplomacy fails, Tehran would conduct a “timely and precise” military attack to break the US naval blockade on the Islamic Republic, the official said. “Iranian entities must be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region, as Iran will be ready to make decisions and take action on difficult decisions.” The official added that “It is a proven fact that the US is not serious about a ceasefire and won’t commit to any, so putting pressure on the enemy or relying on mediators in the hope of reaching a permanent ceasefire is not realistic.” In a social media post on Sunday, the US president asserted that the US’s top priority was to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon. “The number one goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a nuclear weapon,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. His words appeared to be a direct contradiction to US Vice President JD Vance’scomments last weekthat the US’s top goal was to lower gas prices for Americans, and only the second priority was preventing Iran from going nuclear. Trump asserted last year that the June 2025 bombing of three Iranian uranium enrichment facilities had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capability and set back its nuclear program by decades. But the exact extent of the damage is unknown. Prior to last year’s strikes, Iran was enriching uranium to 60 percent, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. That is far higher than is necessary for civilian reactor levels, and a short step away from the 90% required to build a nuclear weapon. Reports have said 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of highly enriched uranium stored in the facilities was buried by the strikes, but Israelreportedly believesthat Iran managed to transfer some of it to the nearby Pickaxe Mountain site following that conflict. Pickaxe Mountain was not hit then or in the latest war, although Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb it. Separately, Baghaei on Monday blamed pollution in Gulf waters on the US military’s operations in the region, after several reported oil spills. “This environmental damage stems from the US military presence and the wars it has waged in the region over the past five decades,” he said. “The damage caused to the environment of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is not solely linked to this war.” He called for the United States to be held accountable, estimating the damage at “trillions of dollars.” Last week, Iran called for compensation after an oil slick in the Strait of Hormuz reached the island of Qeshm, affecting beaches and an environmentally sensitive mangrove forest. At the time, Baghaei cited preliminary evidence identifying “a foreign bulk carrier” as the source of the spill, which Iranian officials later said had been “completely cleaned up.” Meanwhile, two officials in northern Iraq were targeted in drone attacks that the regional counterterrorism service said were launched from the border with Iran. One was fired at the office of Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, and the other targeted the home of a top regional intelligence official, the counterterrorism service said. There were no casualties, and it was unclear whether the buildings were damaged. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Since the beginning of the US-Iran war, Iran and Iranian-backed Iraqi militant groups have launched regular attacks on US military and diplomatic facilities in Iraq and on bases of exiled Iranian Kurdish dissident groups, but Monday’s direct attack on regional government buildings was unusual. Barzani, in a post on X, called the attack “a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region.” The attack comes as US forces currently stationed in the Kurdish region of Iraq have begun withdrawing ahead of a September 30 deadline agreed upon between Washington and Baghdad to end the US military presence in Iraq. Times of Israel staff contributed to this report. As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take thequality, fact-based journalismproduced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos. This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. Butmisinformation is rampanton social media. Our team at ToI producesaccurate, responsibleshort-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world. If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group,The Times of Israel Community.Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting. — Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist We’re really pleased that you’ve readXTimes of Israel articlesin the past month. That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. So now we have a request.Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joiningThe Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of IsraelAD-FREE, as well as accessingexclusive contentavailable only to Times of Israel Community members. Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it 'gets in the way' of US-Iran talks WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump threatened military action against Oman, an ally of the United States, if its negotiations with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz interfere with U.S. efforts to reach a peace deal with Tehran. "If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the s--- out of them," Trump told Fox News in an Aug. 17 phone interview, according to Trey Yingst, the network's chief foreign correspondent who talked to the president. Outside of talks with the United States, Iran has engaged in negotiations with Oman about reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which borders the two countries and both Iran and the United States have asserted control. Iranian leaders have said it won't agree to a deal unless the United States meets certain conditions, including compensation for Tehran. Trump has rejected that idea and defended the success of a U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports that has sought to prevent Iranian ships from using the strait to transport oil. Trump said last week he's ready to soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a "territory of the United States." Trump didn't back off his threat against Oman when asked by a reporter about his remarks during an Oval Office event later on Aug. 17. "I don't think they've behaved very well, but we'd handle them very easily, just like we do other things," Trump said. The president's warning to Oman came as a 60-day window for the United States to negotiate with Iran ‒ outlined in a memorandum of understanding in June ‒ expired. The memorandum was intended to give the two sides two more months to hammer out a peace deal, but the parameters of the preliminary agreement instead quickly fell apart, leaving no end in sight to a war that started in late February. "Iran should wave the white flag of surrender," Trump told Fox News, according to Yingst. Trump also said, "I have no time schedule" and "I'm not in a hurry," even as the political fallout of the war in Iran is colliding with the November midterm elections. With dimming prospects for a U.S-Iran deal to quickly emerge, Trump has repeatedly accused Iranian leaders of lying to him by saying one thing in their private negotiations and then the opposite in public. The two sides dispute who controls the Strait of Hormuz, which about 20% of the world's crude oil and liquefied gas pass through as a critical access point for Middle East oil exports. Since the memorandum of understanding's unraveling, Iran has resumed attacks on ships in the strait that Iranian leaders say lack permission to access the channel. Through the U.S. naval blockade, Trump claims the United States has opened the strait to all commercial ships other than those from Iran, crippling Iran's economy because it relies on oil exports. But Iran has rejected Trump's characterization of the strait, asserting the waterway is instead under the "complete management and control" of Iran and that no commercial ships can go through without its permission. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.