Fox News reports that U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened that the United States would bomb Oman if the country “obstructs” Washington’s direct negotiations with Iran.
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According to the American television network’s journalist, the statement was made on Monday during a phone call, in which Trump also claimed that the United States has a direct line of communication with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
However, the IRGC has denied that talks with the United States are taking place. During the call, Trump was quoted as saying: “If Oman obstructs, we will bomb it.”
An IRGC spokesperson denied the U.S. president’s claim that secret negotiations were being held between the parties. Speaking to the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim, he said that “there are no talks taking place between IRGC officials and the Americans” and described Trump’s statement as a “lie.”
Meanwhile, Iranian officials have announced that they are close to finalizing an agreement on the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that the parties had reached an understanding on the transit route and that the final details would be determined before the publication of a joint statement.
Oman, which considers itself a neutral country in this conflict, is now playing a role in negotiations with Iran over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Since the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran in February, Tehran has significantly restricted movement through this strategic waterway, through which around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes. Reopening the strait has become one of the central points of the talks.
According to Reuters, citing an Iranian official, Tehran has demanded fees ranging from 5 to 7 percent of the value of cargoes carried by ships passing through the strait.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier said that the full reopening of the strait would depend on the compensation Iran is seeking from the United States for what Tehran considers violations of the memorandum of understanding.
In the telephone interview with Fox News, Trump said there was no deadline for ending the conflict.
“They are good poker players, but they are dying. I have no deadline. I am in no rush,” the U.S. president was quoted as saying.
Trump also emphasized that the U.S. midterm elections, which will be held in November, “have nothing to do” with how he is handling the conflict.
He also dismissed concerns about dwindling U.S. weapons reserves, saying that what had been used so far was “nothing” compared with the country’s capabilities.
The memorandum of understanding, signed on June 18, was intended to establish a permanent ceasefire between the parties. However, the temporary ceasefire collapsed shortly afterward, after the United States and Iran resumed exchanging attacks.
On July 8, Trump declared that the ceasefire was “over.”
As the 60-day memorandum was approaching its expiration on Monday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the United States’ main objective “has been and will always be” to ensure that Iran does not, in any way, possess a nuclear weapon.
