Full story
Hormuz deadline passes
President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of U.S. efforts in the conflict with Iran as a 60-day memorandum of understanding expired on Monday, with the BBC reporting Trump said “No.” when asked about extending the MoU.
“total control over the Strait”
The CBS News account said Trump threatened Monday to bomb Oman if the country “gets in the way” of U.S. efforts to war with Iran, while The Hill reported Trump declared the U.S. has “total control over the Strait” of Hormuz.
The Hill also said Monday was the end of a 60-day memorandum of understanding signed between the countries in June, and that Trump said Iran isn’t likely to “make the kind of deal that I feel is necessary” to end the conflict.
In parallel, The Times of Israel reported Trump urged Iran to surrender and warned that “if Oman gets in the way” of Washington’s dealings with Iran, “we’ll bomb the shit out of them.”
Oman deal and backchannel
Iranian officials said they were close to finalising a deal with Oman, and the BBC quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei saying “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route”.
The BBC also reported Trump said the U.S. had a direct backchannel with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, while an IRGC spokesman told Tasnim News: “There are no talks taking place between IRGC officials and the Americans”.
In the Guardian’s account of the same day, Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” and the outlet said Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei called the 60-day deadline “irrelevant”.
The Guardian further reported that Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. envoy Jared Kushner discussed putting an American general in charge of verifying Hamas’s disarmament, as Kushner met Netanyahu after the premier rejected the latest part of a U.S. plan aimed at ending the Gaza war.
What’s at stake next
With the MoU expired, CNN reported tensions over the Strait of Hormuz mounted after Trump threatened to attack Oman if it interfered with efforts to ease the crisis, and it said the 60-day deadline for the U.S. and Iran to reach a deal has now passed.
“at least three commercial ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the last 24 hours”
CNN also said MarineTraffic data showed at least three commercial ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the last 24 hours, with two tankers moving into the Persian Gulf and one vessel exiting into the Gulf of Oman.
In the same CNN report, Trump pushed back on reports of dwindling supplies and low morale on the USS Abraham Lincoln, calling recent reporting “fake news,” while it said the carrier had been deployed for more than 250 days after being redirected to the Middle East to support U.S. operations in the war with Iran.
Meanwhile, the BBC said the Strait of Hormuz has been largely closed for nearly six months during the U.S.-Iran war and that reopening it has been a key point of discussion, as the U.S. and Oman negotiate separately with Tehran to reopen the waterway.
