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.”