President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if the country “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, while also calling on Tehran to surrender in a war that has now run for nearly six months and is increasingly becoming a political burden for him.
Iran has effectively kept the Strait of Hormuz closed since the conflict began on February 28. Control of the strait remains at the center of the standoff between Tehran and Washington. AFP reported the news from Washington.
Sharp swings in energy prices and public opposition to the war have put Republicans under pressure ahead of November’s midterm elections, adding to the pressure on Trump to end the nearly six-month standoff.
Asked by Fox News journalist Trey Yingst about ongoing talks between Iran and Oman over control of the strait, Trump said: “If Oman gets in the way, we will bomb them massively.”
Oman, a US ally in the Gulf region, has not publicly responded to Trump’s remarks.
Tehran and Muscat have been negotiating for several weeks over future shipping arrangements through the strait. Iran’s foreign ministry said Monday the two sides are working on a joint declaration.
Iran’s coast lies on the northern side of the Strait of Hormuz, with Oman on the southern side.
The talks began after a Pakistan-mediated effort to reach an interim US-Iran agreement to keep shipping flowing normally through the strait collapsed.
According to an account of his interview with Yingst, Trump also said: “Iran should raise the white flag and surrender.”
Even as shipping through the strait has fallen sharply, Trump has repeatedly claimed the United States controls the Strait of Hormuz.
On Friday, he said he would declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory. Iran responded by saying the vital energy corridor “will remain Iran’s.”
Before the war began on February 28, Hormuz was considered an open international waterway, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s total oil supply, along with various other goods, was transported.
Tehran has used its effective control of the strait as leverage against the US-led effort to destroy Iran’s military capabilities and force it to abandon its contested nuclear program.
Despite the war’s unpopularity, and Democratic efforts to use the midterms to wrest control of Congress from Republicans, Trump said he is in no rush to reach a deal.
He told Yingst his administration maintains a direct, secret channel of communication with officials in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
He was quoted as saying: “They’re good poker players, but they’re dying.”
‘Full use of diplomacy’
Trump’s remarks came as allied countries kept up pressure for talks.
Turkey’s state news agency, Anadolu, reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the conflict with Trump by phone.
Erdogan stressed the importance of the “full use of diplomacy” to ease tensions between Iran and the United States, and said Ankara would continue supporting efforts to establish peace.
The Strait of Hormuz remains at the center of tensions in the conflict.
The narrow waterway connects the Gulf’s oil-producing states to international markets. Oil prices rose sharply when the strait was closed early in the war, and major importing countries warned of the risk of supply disruptions.
Alongside restricting shipping through Hormuz, Iran’s ally the Houthis in Yemen have declared a parallel naval blockade on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports, Saudi Arabia’s only alternative sea route for oil exports.
Iran wants to control access to the strait and charge transit fees for passage, powers it did not exercise before the war. Washington strongly opposes the move.
With the Strait of Hormuz closed, US consumers have faced rising energy costs, adding to Trump’s political challenges as November’s midterm elections approach.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report