President Donald Trump made a threat to bomb Oman, a US ally, during a phone interview with Fox News, saying "If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the shit out of them." This threat came as the US and Iran negotiate separately with Oman over reopening the Strait of Hormuz. A 60-day Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran is set to expire soon, and Trump has refused to extend it. Oman has been playing a key role in negotiations with Tehran, and Iranian officials had said they were close to finalizing a deal earlier in the day before Trump's threat.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman - a US ally - if it "gets in the way" of his administration's own talks with Iran, Fox News reports.
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News → publish → Iran
The US and Oman have been negotiating separately with Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that is vital to the global economy.
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that → negotiate → economy
It has been largely closed for nearly six months during the US-Iran war.
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It → close → war
A reporter for Fox said the US president made the threat to Oman while using an expletive during a phone interview.
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president → say → interview
Earlier in the day, Iranian officials said they were close to finalising a deal with Oman.
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they → say → Oman
Meanwhile, the future of talks between the US and Iran is unclear as a 60-day Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two sides is expiring.
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Memorandum → expire → sides
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump was asked by BBC News if he was seeking an extension to the MoU, to which he replied: "No."
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he → speak → which
Since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, Tehran has largely blocked the Strait of Hormuz - through which about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes.
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fifth → attack → oil
Reopening it has been a key point of discussion.
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Reopening → reopen → discussion
Oman borders the southern side of the Strait and says it is a neutral country in this conflict.
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it → border → conflict
However it has suffered a number of strikes from Iran and is now playing a key role in negotiating with Tehran to reopen the waterway.
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it → suffer → waterway
Washington has pursued its own efforts to secure the reopening.
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Washington → pursue → reopening
Fox reporter Trey Yingst quoted Trump as saying: "If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the shit out of them."
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we → quote → them
It is not clear what Trump thinks would constitute getting in the way of his ambitions for a deal.
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Trump → think → deal
During the same interview with Fox, Trump also said the US had a direct backchannel with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is a major military, economic and political force in Iran.
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which → say → Iran
An IRGC spokesman denied Trump's claim.
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spokesman → deny → claim
A spokesman told semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim News: "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."
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he → tell → war
Trump made his threat to Oman a few hours after Iran had said the two countries had reached an agreement for ships to travel through the Strait.
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ships → make → Strait
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters "an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route".
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understanding → tell → route
He added that both sides would finalise the details before issuing a joint statement.
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sides → add → statement
Oman has previously described these talks as positive.
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Oman → describe → talks
Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a full reopening was dependent on Iran receiving compensation from the US for what Tehran described as violations of the MoU.
Reuters - citing an Iranian official - previously reported that Tehran was seeking fees of between 5% and 7% of the price of cargoes from vessels who travel through the Strait.
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who → say → Strait
While Trump said in his call with Fox that he had a direct backchannel with the IRGC, he said he was in no hurry to bring the war to a close.
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he → say → close
"They're good poker players, but they're dying," he was quoted as saying.
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he → die → ?
"I have no time schedule.
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I → have → schedule
The Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran, signed on 18 June, was designed to bring about a ceasefire and at least partly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
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Memorandum → sign → Hormuz
But it fell apart a short time later when both sides resumed strikes.
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sides → fall → strikes
On 8 July, Trump said the ceasefire was "over" and blasted Iran's leadership as "scum" and "cuckoo" after fresh exchanges of fire.
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ceasefire → say → fire
As the MoU neared its formal expiry on Monday, Trump posted on his Truth Social network: "The number one goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a nuclear weapon."
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Iran → near → weapon
