WASHINGTON/ MIDDLE EAST (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 shit out of them," Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, referring to ongoing talks between Oman and Iran on control of the strait, while Washington is also pursuing its own talks.
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.
Meanwhile, Oil prices rose on Monday on a lack of progress in diplomatic efforts to resolve the Middle East conflict, though the absence of major supply outages limited gains.
Brent crude futures were up 34 cents, or 0.38%, at US$88.86 a barrel by 1202 GMT after hitting a session high of $89.68. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 4 cents or 0.05% to US$82.44 a barrel. Both contracts gained more than 5% last week following attacks on tankers operated by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the Hormuz Strait and on a Saudi Aramco refinery.
But Bjarne Schieldrop at SEB Research said that prices were unlikely to move substantially higher unless there was a halt in the current flow of crude out through the Strait of Hormuz at night and/or a closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
For now, prices were trading close to $90 as traders weigh the risk of deeper disruption and shortages against the possibility of a resolution where the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, and oil prices fall sharply, Schieldrop said.
Over the weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran had not decided to resume talks with the United States, while Trump urged Americans to accept slightly higher gasoline prices while the conflict continues.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said talks with Oman were continuing and were taking a long time due to the complexity of the subject, the involvement of multiple actors, and countries seeking to undermine the process.
