Trump threatens to bomb Oman over Iran negotiations

President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman if it "gets in the way" of US negotiations with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, according to Fox News reporter Trey Yingst, who quoted the president during a phone interview on Monday. "If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the shit out of them," Trump said, according to the BBC. The threat came as the 60-day memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran expired on Monday, and as Oman has been mediating talks with Tehran on reopening the strategic waterway.

Trump also said the US has a direct backchannel with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a claim the IRGC denied. "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," an IRGC spokesman told the semi-official Tasnim News Agency, according to the BBC. Earlier on Monday, Iran said it had reached an understanding with Oman on a navigation route map for the strait.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters that "an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route," and that both sides would finalize details before issuing a joint statement, according to the BBC. Trump also said Iran should "put up the white flag of surrender," adding: "They're good poker players, but they're dying." He said he was in no hurry to reach a deal and that the upcoming November midterm elections had "nothing to do with my thinking," according to the BBC.

The agreement gave the two nations 60 days to work out a final deal. Trump has repeatedly insisted that the US controls the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran effectively closed following the outbreak of war in late February. "The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT," he wrote on Truth Social last week, according to Euronews.