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, through which approximately one quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade normally passes.
'If Oman gets in the way, we will bomb them mercilessly,' Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
Tehran has been holding separate negotiations with Oman on establishing a safe passage for commercial shipping through the strait, a strategic chokepoint linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said talks with Oman were in their 'final phase', but stressed that any bilateral agreement would not automatically mean the Strait of Hormuz would reopen, as that depended on additional 'conditions', according to Iranian state media.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that discussions between the two sides were continuing as they worked towards a joint agreement, Iran's Fars news agency reported.
He added that an 'understanding' had been reached between Iran and Oman on a 'map of shipping routes' through the strait, which typically carries around one quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade.
'The insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz has been imposed on us, on the region, and on the entire world,' Baghaei said at a press conference. 'It is an extremely complex issue, and for the first time, a mechanism will be created that simultaneously protects the sovereignty and sovereign rights of both coastal states — Iran and Oman — while ensuring the safe passage of commercial vessels through this waterway.'
Despite the negotiations, Trump has repeatedly insisted that the United States controls the strait, which was effectively closed by Tehran following the outbreak of war with Iran at the end of February. Trump also drew a sharp response from Tehran after he appeared to suggest, seemingly in jest, on Friday that he would soon declare the strait 'territory of the United States'.
In response, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, wrote on social media platform X that 'Hormuz was, is, and will remain Iranian'.
A memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran in June had required Tehran to reopen the waterway and reaffirm that it would 'neither acquire nor develop nuclear weapons', while Washington committed to lifting its naval blockade of Iran and removing sanctions imposed on the country. The agreement, which has since lapsed, gave the two sides 60 days to negotiate a final settlement.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/08/17/mundo/medio-oriente-trump-ameaca-atacar-oma-se-pais-bloquear-negociacoes-entre-eua-e-irao/
