US President Donald Trump has threatened to launch strikes against Oman if it "gets in the way" of talks between Washington and Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz.
"If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the s--- out of them," Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Monday, as June's US-Iran memorandum of understanding expired.
Tehran has been locked in ongoing talks with Oman over establishing a secure passage for commercial shipping through the Strait, a strategic oil and gas transit chokepoint that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said negotiations with Oman were in the "final stages" but stressed that any agreement between the two nations did not mean that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened, as this was dependent on additional "conditions," per Iranian state media.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that talks between the two parties were continuing as they worked towards a joint agreement, Iran's Fars news agency reported.
He reportedly added that an "understanding" had been reached between Iran and Oman on the "navigation route map" in the Strait - which usually carries around a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade.
“Insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz was imposed on us, the region, and the entire world," Baghaei said at a press conference. "This is a highly complex issue, and for the first time a mechanism is to be established that both safeguards the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the two coastal states (Iran and Oman) and ensures the safe passage of commercial vessels through this waterway.”
Despite the talks, Trump has repeatedly insisted that the US is in control of the Strait, which was effectively closed by Tehran following the outbreak of the Iran war in late February.
"The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT," the president wrote in a post on Truth Social last week.
Trump also provoked a fiery response from Tehran after he apparently jokingly said on Friday that he would soon be declaring the Strait "a territory of the United States."
Responding to the comments in a post on X, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for legal and international affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, said "the Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian."
"This strait will only be closed and opened under Iran's command, and as long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and cease your fanciful delusions, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade," he added.
The memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran in June had required Iran to reopen the waterway and reaffirm that it "shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons," while the US said it would remove its naval blockade of Iran and drop sanctions on the country. The now-expired agreement gave the two nations 60 days to work out a final deal.
