Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17870306743201787030672184.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"></span></span></span></div><p>U.S. President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. SpaceXs billionaire owner, Elon Musk, a Trump confidante, has been tapped to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency alongside former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP/File</p><div><br/></div><p>President Donald Trump threatened Monday to bomb Oman if it &quot;gets in the way&quot; of a US deal with Iran on the Strait of Hormuz and called for Tehran to surrender in a war that has become a growing political burden.</p><p>Control of the waterway, which Iran has effectively closed since the conflict began on February 28, remains at the heart of the deadlock between Tehran and Washington.</p><p>With whipsawing fuel prices and public opposition to the war weighing on Republicans ahead of November&#x27;s midterm elections, Trump has faced mounting pressure to end a stalemate that has dragged on for nearly six months.</p><p>&quot;If Oman gets in the way, we&#x27;ll bomb the shit out of them,&quot; Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, referring to ongoing talks between Oman and Iran on control of the strait, which lies between the two countries.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/8/14/vance-says-low-oil-prices-are-top-us-goal-in-iran-conflict-0837">US says lower oil prices, not Iran&#x27;s nuclear program, are now top priority in war</a></div><p>Oman, a US ally in the Gulf, has not publicly commented on Trump&#x27;s remarks.</p><p>Tehran and Muscat have been discussing for weeks future navigation arrangements through the route, and Iran&#x27;s foreign ministry said earlier Monday the two sides were working on a joint declaration.</p><p>Iran&#x27;s coast flanks the northern side of Hormuz, while Oman sits on the south.</p><p>Their talks follow the collapse of a Pakistan-mediated US-Iran interim deal aimed at keeping Hormuz open to traffic.</p><p>Renewed fighting over the waterway quickly derailed the arrangement, spreading the conflict to Gulf allies and commercial shipping across the Middle East.</p><p>Trump also said that Iran should &quot;put up the white flag of surrender,&quot; according to Yingst&#x27;s account of the interview on X.</p><p>The president has repeatedly insisted that the strait is under US control despite traffic remaining heavily throttled.</p><p>On Friday, he said he would declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, prompting Iran to retort that the energy chokepoint &quot;will remain Iranian.&quot;</p><p>Before the war erupted on February 28, the strait was considered an open, international waterway carrying roughly a fifth of global oil supplies as well as other commodities.</p><p>Tehran has used its effective control over the strait as leverage against the US-led attempts to destroy its military and force it to abandon a controversial nuclear power program.</p><p>Trump insisted that he was in no hurry to reach a deal despite the unpopularity of the war and opposition Democrats seeking to take control of Congress from the Republicans in the midterm elections.</p><p>He told Yingst that there is a direct back-channel between his administration and officials of Iran&#x27;s Revolutionary Guard.</p><p>&quot;They&#x27;re good poker players, but they&#x27;re dying,&quot; he was quoted as saying.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/8/15/trump-urges-americans-to-accept-higher-gas-prices-as-he-escalates-iran-rhetoric-0837">Trump urges Americans to accept higher gas prices as he escalates Iran rhetoric</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;UTILIZING DIPLOMACY&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The rhetoric came as allies continued pressing for negotiations.</p><p>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the conflict in a phone call with Trump, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu.</p><p>Erdogan stressed the importance of &quot;fully utilizing diplomacy&quot; to ease tensions between Iran and the United States and said Ankara would continue supporting efforts to secure peace.</p><p>The Strait of Hormuz remains the central flashpoint in the conflict.</p><p>The narrow passage links Gulf producers to international markets and its closure triggered a surge in oil prices earlier in the war, prompting warnings from major importing nations about supply disruptions.</p><p>As Iran restricts traffic in Hormuz, its Houthi allies in Yemen have declared a parallel maritime blockade on Saudi ports in the Red Sea, the kingdom&#x27;s only alternative maritime route for oil exports.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/8/14/us-threatens-iran-with-economic-isolation-like-the-world-has-never-seen-1005">US threatens Iran with &#x27;economic isolation, like the world has never seen&#x27;</a></div><p>Iran wants to control access to the strait and charge transit fees, powers it did not exercise before the war and which Washington strongly opposes.</p><p>The closure of Hormuz has driven up fuel prices for US consumers, creating another political challenge for Trump as November&#x27;s midterm elections approach.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/8/17/big-hikes-in-diesel-gasoline-prices-set-in-3rd-week-of-august-0959">Big hikes in diesel, gasoline prices set in 3rd week of August</a></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lX85z4Ikgpc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>President Donald Trump threatened Monday to bomb Oman if it "gets in the way" of a US deal with Iran on the Strait of Hormuz and called for Tehran to surrender in a war that has become a growing political burden. </p>

President Donald Trump threatened Monday to bomb Oman if it "gets in the way" of a US deal with Iran on the Strait of Hormuz and called for Tehran to surrender in a war that has become a growing political burden.

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Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it gets in way of Iran deal

Agence France-Presse

Published August 18, 2026 01:20 PM PHT

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Updated August 18, 2026 01:25 PM PHT

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