Dubai, Aug 18: US President Donald Trump has again threatened Oman as Iran said it is working with the Gulf Arab country on a plan to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
On the other hand, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, the president downplayed reports about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. The aircraft carrier has been the subject of escalating concern over mental health and supply issues for American sailors enduring a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days.
Trump said a retired, unnamed, admiral assured him that the Lincoln is “beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of.”
Meanwhile, the 60-day negotiating period to find a peace deal between the US and Iran is expiring, with no word of an extension and both sides seemingly as far apart as they were at the start.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war:
Finalising deal with Oman on Strait of Hormuz: Iran
Iran said it has reached an agreement with Oman over a plan for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between the two countries, and they are now working to finalise details for a joint statement.
Iran foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route.”
He did not elaborate, but details that have previously emerged suggest the deal would reopen the strait with ships entering through a route close to Iran and exiting through a route close to Oman. Ships would transit without paying fees or tolls during an interim period.
The US has sought an acceptable deal on opening the strait before ending its blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran effectively closed the strait — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies passed before the war — after Israel and the US attacked the country on Feb 28.
Trump says US will bomb Oman if it gets in way
Trump told Fox News reporter Trey Yingst that the US would bomb Oman if it “gets in the way”, using an expletive for emphasis.
Fox News did not provide audio of the interview.
This is not the first time that Trump has threatened Oman. In May, he told reporters during a Cabinet meeting that “Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up.”
Trump also said the expiration of the 60-day deadline on talks to end the war was irrelevant and said there was no timeline, Yingst said. Trump said the US has a back channel for talks with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Yingst added.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres wants Iran and the US to resume peace negotiations, saying there is no military solution to the conflict, according to U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
Dujarric said the UN chief also thinks the countries need to “lower the rhetoric that we’ve been hearing in recent days.”
Trump says concerns about conditions on USS Lincoln fake
Trump downplayed reports about conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln to reporters in the Oval Office. The aircraft carrier has been the subject of escalating concern over mental health and supply issues for American sailors enduring nearly nine months at sea.
Trump called it a “good period of time” but added that “over the years, we’ve had them out there much longer.”
The carrier has had a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days.
But Trump said he spoke with a retired admiral over the weekend who recounted being on ships for “much longer”. Trump said the admiral assured him that the Lincoln is “beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of.” He, however, did not name the admiral.
Like the idea of declaring Strait of Hormuz a ‘territory’: Trump
Responding to a question about an offhand comment he made last week about the crucial waterway that has become a centrepiece of negotiations with Iran, Trump said, “I like the idea of declaring it a territory,” — without providing further details.
It’s not the first time Trump has toyed with the idea of expanding American territory. He has previously mused about taking over Greenland, Canada and Venezuela.
Trump’s 60-day deadline for Iran peace deal expiring
The deal Trump signed at Versailles set an ambitious 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran and reaching an accord on its nuclear programme. The deadline was Monday, and the two sides are even further apart.
Talks, such as they are, have focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting a US blockade. Both were supposed to have happened under the interim deal. There has been no sign of any compromise on the strait, or that detailed nuclear talks have even begun.
The US, meanwhile, has no good options for getting out of the war it started alongside Israel. Acceding to Iranian control over the critical international waterway where global energy supplies moved freely before the war would be tantamount to admitting defeat. Escalating the deeply unpopular war would jolt the world economy and drive up prices ahead of US elections.
Houthi rebels say they attacked boats in Red Sea
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed that they attacked a ship and four military boats on Monday in the Red Sea off the Yemeni city of Mokha, near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The rebels fired a number of ballistic missiles at the vessels, resulting in the capsizing and burning of the boats, Yahya Saree, a military spokesperson for the Houthis, said in a statement.
The rebels claimed that the vessels belonged to Saudi Arabia, without providing evidence. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia, and The Associated Press could not independently verify the Houthi claim.
Saree also said the rebels launched a drone attack on government forces in the central province of Marib.
