Donald Trump has claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is “very functional” despite the occasional rocket or drone attack in another bizarre rant.
Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, the US president repeated his claim that the vital oil waterway is “open” and had been fully demined despite continued attacks on ships.
“It's a functioning Strait. Yes, every once in a while there'll be a drone or a rocket or something shot, but it is a very functioning Strait. A lot of oil is pouring out,” he said.
His comments came as Oman and Iran said that an agreement on future control of the Strait had not yet been finalised.
"The Strait of Hormuz belongs to Iran and the country of Oman. We have been in negotiations with Oman for about a month, and we have reached results that are acceptable to both sides," Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi said in comments published by Iranian state media.
Trump has warned Oman against cooperating with Iran, telling Fox News on August 17: "If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the s*** out of them."
Iran says no final deal reached with Oman over Strait of Hormuz - report
Iran and Oman are still negotiating the details of an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source said on Wednesday, contradicting an earlier claim by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that the two countries had agreed on how to divide control of the strategic waterway and its revenues.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Iran and Oman had reached an understanding on their respective shares of the strait’s waters and revenues. But the senior Iranian source said no final agreement had been reached, adding that talks were continuing.
The IRGC also said the strait would remain closed unless the United States met Tehran’s conditions under an interim ceasefire agreement reached in June before it unravelled. Iran has demanded an end to the US blockade of its ports, compensation and the removal of sanctions.
Iran and Oman have held talks for weeks over managing traffic through the strait, a crucial global energy chokepoint that handled about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war began in February.
Most shipping through the waterway has since been disrupted, pushing global energy prices higher as Iran and the US seek to exert control over the channel through separate blockades.
The conflicting statements leave the status of any Iran-Oman agreement unclear, with negotiations apparently continuing over the details of a possible accord.
Trump says 'no time schedule' for return to US-Iran negotiations
US president Donald Trump has said he has “no time schedule” for when the US-Iran talks will take place to end the conflict.
“I have no time schedule, none. I’m not in a hurry. I have no time schedule at all,” Trump told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.
“We are winning very big,” Trump said. “They’ve got massive inflation, their economy is falling apart, they’re treating their people very badly, they are killing many, many protesters. I have no time schedule; whatever it takes.”
Trump said the economic measures and military strikes together were “effective” in the conflict when asked what has worked better.
Sailor who jumped from USS Lincoln to face disciplinary action
A sailor who jumped from the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln this month in what his wife described as a suicide attempt is facing disciplinary action from the US Navy.
According to documents reviewed by MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, the sailor has been accused of malingering and being absent without leave, offences that could result in the loss of half his pay.
“I think they’re insane for doing this to people who need mental help,” his wife told the US media outlet.
Asked why it was pursuing disciplinary action against a sailor following a suicide attempt, a US Navy official told MS NOW that the service was committed to the wellbeing of every sailor and that seeking help was a sign of strength.
The Lincoln’s deployment was extended repeatedly during the war on Iran, prompting concerns over the strain on its crew from prolonged periods at sea and deteriorating conditions aboard the carrier. A group of Democratic senators has called for hearings into the deployment.
The USS George Washington aircraft carrier arrived in the Middle East earlier this month to relieve the Lincoln.
Aramco offers more oil outside Hormuz with some cargoes heading to China
Saudi Aramco has offered more oil for loading outside the Strait of Hormuz in September, four sources with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday, after the producer sold at least 4 million barrels to China this month.
Shipping data indicates that Aramco has resorted to shuttling cargoes aboard tankers with their trackers switched off to evade attacks during transit through the strait, which was used by a fifth of the world's oil and gas before the US-Iran war broke out on February 28.
Aramco has started a sales process for Arab Medium and Arab Heavy crude with Asian buyers for a second consecutive week, with cargoes offered via ship-to-ship (STS) transfers off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates or Sohar in Oman, both outside the strait, the sources said. Bids are due by Wednesday, one of the sources said.
The offers come after two supertankers carrying 4 million barrels of Saudi crude were bound for China after loading the cargoes via STS transfers off Sohar, shipping data from Vortexa and Kpler showed.
Very large crude carrier Singapore Prosperity transferred its Saudi crude cargo around August 22 to the VLCC Xin Hui Yang, which is expected to arrive at eastern Chinese Ningbo port on September 15, the data showed.
Trump ignored warnings from Tulsi Gabbard and US intelligence the Iran war would backfire: report
Donald Trump was warned against attacking Iran in February by US intelligence chiefs, who suggested it could backfire and usher in an even more hard-line regime, according to a report.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the then-director of national intelligence and military veteran Tulsi Gabbard was summoned to the Oval Office to discuss the issue before strikes were launched on February 28.
Trump was reportedly buoyed at the time by the success of the previous summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities and the removal of Nicolas Maduro from power in Venezuela and wanted her assessment on the proposed new assault.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reportedly pushed for military action, claiming the Islamic Republic was in a weaker condition than ever before so there was an opportunity to extinguish its nuclear ambitions once and for all.
President Donald Trump was reportedly briefed by then-director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that overthrowing regime in Tehran could bring more hard-line successor in its place.
Oil prices fall to extend multi-day losses
Oil prices fell on Thursday, extending a streak of losses, on expectations that talks between Iran and Qatar might open the Strait of Hormuz and reduce supply disruptions from the war in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures were down 41 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $87.43 a barrel at 0330 GMT, in line for a fourth day of decline.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 37 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $81.86, in line for a fifth day of losses.
The decline came amid expectations that Iran and Oman are working on finalising details of an agreement to control the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source said on Wednesday, after Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the two countries had agreed how to share the waterway that connects major Gulf oil producers to markets and its revenues.
USS Theodore Roosevelt to be deployed to Middle East for seven months
The USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group and its crew of 5,000 sailors are expected to be deployed to the Middle East for at least seven months, according to the US Naval Institute.
The families of the sailors assigned to the carrier were already preparing for the deployment, it said.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, its escorts and embarked air wing are expected to depart San Diego in the coming weeks for the US Central Command.
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman, each one year into the job, told reporters on Wednesday that this commitment showed no signs of stopping and the service was doing what it could to ease the pressure on deployed sailors and their families facing the longest deployments in decades.
The carrier will relieve the USS George Washington, which took over from the USS Abraham Lincoln last week, the report said.
Qatar PM to visit Tehran to pursue mediation efforts
Qatar's prime minister will visit Tehran on Thursday in an effort to relaunch diplomacy after the US and Iran traded recriminations over Washington's promise to increase economic pressure on Tehran by targeting its trade partners for sanctions.
Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani will discuss the continuation of Qatar's mediation efforts and other developments in the region during his visit to Tehran on Thursday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson said on X that Sheikh Mohammed would also address freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the need to return to the status quo before February 28, while also discussing with Iranian officials ways to "de-escalate tensions and create the conditions conducive to dialogue."
