“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb…them,” Trump told US broadcaster Fox News, referring to ongoing talks between Oman and Iran on control of the strait, while Washington is also pursuing its own talks.
Iranian and Omani officials have been talking for weeks on future maritime navigation arrangements through the shipping route, and the foreign ministry in Tehran said earlier on Monday that the two sides were working on a joint declaration.
However, Trump has repeatedly insisted that the strait – which Tehran effectively closed at the start of the Middle East war on February 28 – is under US control despite traffic remaining throttled.
On Friday, Trump claimed that he would even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, while Iran retorted that the crucial energy waterway it has blockaded “will remain Iranian”.
Prior to the launch of the US-Israeli war against Iran, the Hormuz strait was considered an open, international waterway. It carries significant portions of global energy shipments, as well as other commodities.
Tehran has used its effective seizing of control over the strait as leverage against the US-led attempts to destroy its military and force it to abandon a nuclear power programme.
Iran’s coast flanks the north side of Hormuz and Oman lies on the south.
Trump insisted that he was in no hurry to reach a deal despite the deep unpopularity of the war among Americans ahead of November midterm elections in the United States, with opposition Democrats seeking to take control of Congress from Trump’s Republicans.
Trump had also told Fox News that there is a direct back-channel between his administration and officials of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
“They’re good poker players, but they’re dying,” he said. (AFP)
