AFP: US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a deal with Iran on the Strait of Hormuz and called for Iran to surrender.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s*** out of them,” Trump told Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, 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.
President Trump told Fox News that Iran should “put up the white flag of surrender.”
“I have no time schedule,” Trump added. “I’m not in a hurry…the midterms have nothing to do with my thinking.”
The President confirmed there is a direct backchannel with IRGC officials.… pic.twitter.com/OAHFVWSQFs
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) August 17, 2026
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 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 its nuclear power programme.
Iran’s coast flanks the north side of the Hormuz, and Oman lies on the south.
Trump also said that Iran should “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst’s post on X on his interview with the president.
