Why has Trump threatened to bomb Oman – for a second time?
Oman is currently negotiating with Iran over the reopening of the critical Strait of Hormuz, while Iran has repeatedly stated that it will not speak directly to the US. On Monday, as Iranian officials said they were close to announcing an agreement with Oman, a 60-day Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Washington and Tehran – which had provided for a period of peace talks but largely fell apart early on – expired with little hope for renewal. This is not the first time Trump has threatened Oman, a US ally which has never entered into any direct conflict with the US. Oman, through whose territorial waters the contested Strait of Hormuz also flows, has positioned itself as a neutral party in the US-Iran war. Despite that, it has suffered a number of strikes by Iran, which has targeted US military assets and infrastructure around the region in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks. Now, Trump is threatening to strike it as well. Here is more about what Trump has threatened, and why.
What did Trump threaten Oman with? Trump told US broadcaster Fox News on Monday that Iran should surrender, and claimed that his administration had opened a direct backchannel for talks with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). During the interview, he threatened to bomb US ally Oman if it “gets in the way” of US talks with Iran. “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s*** out of them,” he said. An IRGC spokesman denied Trump’s claim of direct talks, telling Iran’s semi-official 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.”
Has he threatened Oman before? Monday was not the first time Trump threatened Oman over the course of the five-month war between the US and Iran. In May, he made a similar threat. At a cabinet meeting on May 27, a reporter asked Trump what he thought about the idea of Oman and Iran jointly overseeing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. “Would you accept a short-term deal that allows Iran and Oman to control the strait?” the reporter asked. Trump replied with a seemingly offhand threat. “Nobody is going to control it. It’s international waters, and Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up.” While there was initial speculation that Trump might have misspoken and said “Oman” instead of “Iran”, the US State Department la