US will bomb the s**t out of them: Trump's warning to Oman over Iran Hormuz deal

Donald Trump threatened military action against Oman after Iran said it had agreed a Strait of Hormuz transit route with Muscat. The warning adds pressure on Oman as it tries to balance mediation with Washington and talks with Tehran.

In Short

• Iran and Oman agree on ship transit route through Strait of Hormuz
• Trump threatens military action if Oman interferes with US Iran policy
• US-Iran 60-day deadline expires with no final agreement

As Iran announced it has reached an agreement with Oman over a plan for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump threatened military action against Oman if it interferes with Washington's efforts against Iran.

"If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the s**t out of them," Trump told Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst in a phone interview on Monday. He issued the threat on the day a 60-day memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran expired, with no comprehensive agreement reached to end the conflict. He said he was in no rush for a deal and repeated that the US naval blockade was tightening economic pressure on Tehran.

IRAN, OMAN WORK ON HORMUZ ROUTE

Trump's remarks followed Iran's announcement that it had reached an understanding with Oman over a possible route for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said an agreement had been reached over the "map of the transit route", with Tehran and Muscat now working towards a joint statement. Baghaei did not provide full details of the arrangement. Previous discussions have indicated that ships could enter the strait through a route closer to Iran and exit through waters closer to Oman.

However, Baghaei admitted that negotiations had moved slowly, but said the two sides still intended to complete the arrangement as a package consisting of the route map and a joint statement. It presents a potential complication for Washington. The US has been pressing for an arrangement on reopening the strait before ending its blockade of Iranian ports.

TRUMP HAS WARNED OMAN BEFORE

Monday's threat was not the first time Trump has warned Oman over the Strait of Hormuz. In May, he said the waterway should remain open to international shipping and warned Oman against attempting to control it.

"Nobody's going to control it," Trump said at the time. "It's international waters and Oman will behave just like everybody else or we'll have to blow them up."

The warning placed Oman in an increasingly difficult position. A longstanding US partner and key mediator between Washington and Tehran, Muscat is now trying to negotiate access through the strategic waterway while facing a direct threat from Trump over any move he believes could undermine the US blockade of Iran.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN SHOULD 'RAISE THE WHITE FLAG'

In his conversation with Yingst on Monday, Trump also said Iran should surrender and suggested that Washington had no fixed timetable for resolving the confrontation.

"I have no time schedule. I'm not in a hurry," Trump said, according to Yingst's account of the conversation. He also described Iranian negotiators as "good poker players" but claimed they were under severe pressure from the US blockade. He also brushed aside claims that the US midterm elections were influencing his Iran strategy.

Trump also sought to underline the scale of US military capabilities in the Middle East, describing the weapons used against Iran so far as "peanuts" compared with Washington's arsenal. He said the US still had substantial stocks of what he described as mid-level weapons, while arguing that some of its more advanced systems had been transferred to Ukraine under the previous administration.

Trump specifically pointed to air defence systems, saying those capabilities were now needed in the Middle East as Washington continues to maintain military pressure on Iran.

TRUMP REASSERTS NUCLEAR PRIORITY

The latest comments also followed a renewed declaration that preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon remains Washington's overriding objective.

"The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape or form, a Nuclear Weapon," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The statement appeared to contrast with comments from Vice President JD Vance, who had said the administration's immediate priority was lowering fuel prices for Americans, with preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon as a secondary objective.

Meanwhile, Muscat's balancing act has become more difficult. While Oman works with Iran to ease shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Washington has made clear that it will not tolerate moves it believes undermine its pressure campaign against Tehran.

- Ends
With inputs from agencies