(Photo credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)The Cradle
AUG 17, 2026
Tehran has stated it will go on the ‘offensive’ if Washington refuses to implement the terms of the MoU signed by both sides in June
US President Donald Trump threatened on 17 August to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of his efforts to force Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz by maintaining a naval blockade on Iran.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump stated while speaking with Fox News on Monday.
He also claimed during the interview that his number one goal is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
This is the second time Trump has threatened Oman, a US ally and member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). During a cabinet meeting in May, the president also threatened to “blow up” the country if it failed to “behave.”
Trump issued the threat after the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that Tehran and Muscat were finalizing a joint agreement to manage ship transits through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed in February in response to Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s unprovoked war.
The strategic waterway, through which 20 percent of global oil exports typically pass, lies between Iran and Oman.
Iran insists that moving forward, commercial vessels and oil tankers pay a service fee for transiting the strait.
Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that talks between Tehran and Muscat are continuing to establish a mechanism that guarantees the sovereignty and sovereign rights of Iran and Oman and ensures safe passage for commercial vessels in accordance with international shipping standards.
However, the US is currently enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ships and ports, while demanding that Tehran allow free passage through Hormuz as it did before Trump launched the war on 28 February.
Meanwhile, Iran is shifting its strategy in the war with the US from defensive to “fully offensive” amid a stalemate in negotiations between the two sides, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday.
“Iranian entities must be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region, as Iran will be ready to make decisions and take action on difficult decisions,” the Iranian official said.
The official added that Tehran would launch a “timely and precise” military operation to break the US naval blockade if no diplomatic breakthrough is reached.
The US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in June to halt 40 days of intense fighting, including in Lebanon. The MoU provided for 60 days for negotiations as a first step to end the war, reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, and settle the status of Hormuz.
However, the 60-day period expired on Monday, roughly one month after Trump declared the MoU “over” and launched a renewed bombing campaign against Iran, and as Israel continued bombing south Lebanon.
Iran has now established a new deadline for the US to implement the provisions of the MoU.
“Within the short period of a few weeks set by Iran, all the agreement’s provisions must be implemented by the US. This is a precondition for further negotiations with the US,” the Iranian official told Reuters.
On Friday, Trump escalated his rhetoric, claiming the US would defeat Iran and declare Hormuz “a territory of the United States.”
At the same time, Tehran has promised to eliminate the US presence in the region and prevent Washington from re-establishing its military bases in the Gulf states destroyed by Iranian missile attacks.
On Sunday, the commander-in-chief of the Iranian army, Major General Amir Hatami, stated that his forces have begun implementing the decision to expel US forces from the Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz, adding that his country will not allow US bases to return to their previous status.
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