Arabic version: ترامب يهدد عُمان بسبب محادثات مضيق هرمز مع إيران

According to BBC News, President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb US ally Oman if it “gets in the way” of his administration’s talks with Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Fox News reporter Trey Yingst quoted Trump as saying: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them.”

The US and Oman have been negotiating separately with Tehran over the waterway, which has been largely closed for nearly six months during the US-Iran war. About a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Oman borders its southern side and says it is neutral in the conflict, though it has suffered several Iranian strikes.

Iranian officials said earlier that they were close to finalising an agreement with Oman. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route” and that details would be completed before a joint statement. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said a full reopening depended on compensation from the US for what Tehran called violations of a Memorandum of Understanding.

The US-Iran MoU, signed on 18 June, was intended to establish a ceasefire and partly reopen the Strait, but it collapsed after both sides resumed strikes. Trump told BBC News he was not seeking an extension as the 60-day arrangement expired. He also told Fox that the US had a direct backchannel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a claim denied by an IRGC spokesman.