Donald Trump Threatens To Bomb Oman Over Strait Of Hormuz Collaboration With Iran

At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to use military force against Oman if it collaborates with Iran to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz, telling reporters, “Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up.”

The Al Jazeera report said the question came after a reporter asked Trump “Would you accept a short-term deal that allows Iran and Oman to control the strait?” and Trump replied, “Nobody is going to control it. It’s international waters, and Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up.”

Al Jazeera

The South China Morning Post said the White House did not immediately respond when asked if Trump had misspoken and had intended to refer to Iran rather than Oman, and it added that the U.S. State Department later posted a clip and transcript without any correction or clarification.

Al Jazeera said the Strait of Hormuz handles more than 20 percent of the world’s global oil traffic, and it reported that parts of the waterway go through Iranian and Omani territorial waters.

Al Jazeera also said Oman, known for its neutrality, has not said it wants to join Iran in controlling Hormuz, while the U.S. and Oman are close allies with a relationship that stretches more than 200 years.

Al Jazeera quoted Raed Jarrar, the advocacy director at the U.S.-based rights group DAWN, likening Trump’s comments to those of a “mafia boss” and arguing that “The UN Charter prohibits the threat of force against any state.”

Jarrar told Al Jazeera that threatening to “blow up” an Arab country because its waters sit along an oil route Washington wants reopened was “the clearest possible signal that any ceasefire this administration brokers will hold only until the next time the president loses his temper at a cabinet meeting.”

Al Jazeera

The Al Jazeera account said Trump’s apparent threat followed Iran’s state television reporting on the framework of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two countries, which the Trump administration called “a complete fabrication.”

Al Jazeera reported that during Wednesday’s cabinet meeting Trump also reiterated his call for Arab countries — including Saudi Arabia and Qatar — to establish formal relations with Israel as part of any future US-Iran ceasefire agreement.

It added that Trump said, “I’m not sure we should make the deal if they don’t sign, if you want to know the truth,” and it reported the White House did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

Beyond the Hormuz dispute, multiple reports described a broader push for a framework with Iran that would trade reopening the waterway for an end to the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and a suspension of the war over a 60-day time period, with detailed talks on Tehran’s nuclear program to follow.

“Istanbul / Anadolu Agency Donald Trump, the president of the United States, after failing to win the support votes of both permanent and non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution reinstating an arms embargo on the Islamic Republic of Iran, threatened that in order to achieve that goal and to apply more pressure on the country, he would soon activate the JCPOA's Trigger Mechanism, i”

Anadolu Ajansı

MS NOW said U.S. defensive strikes against Iranian boats and missile batteries were described by the Trump administration as retaliation for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ attempted mining of the strategic chokepoint, and it said the talks were complicated by disputes over how much of Iran’s frozen assets will be unblocked and when they will be released.

CNBC reported that U.S. forces conducted “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran early Tuesday local time, with U.S. Central Command saying the military action was to “protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.”

CNBC also quoted CENTCOM spokesman Tim Hawkins saying the action came as U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday the talks with Iran were “proceeding nicely,” while Trump warned, “it will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all.”

In the same CNBC report, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Strait of Hormuz has to be open, “one way or the other,” and it added that Fox News, citing senior U.S. officials, said the Iran deal was “95% there.”